Death is Inside the Bones
by Liv Marie
Summary: Five years after being convicted for almost destroying Storybrooke with a trigger in her persue for vengence against Snow White, Regina receives a visitor seeking her help. Turns out that while Regina had been paying for her crimes, another kind of curse was cast upon this world bringing the dead back to life with a special appetite for the living. SQ Big Bang 2014. #COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow. This has been a long long journey. My special thanks goes to a very dear friend who hasn't been just my beta but also my cheerleader and shoulder to cry on whenever I needed to vent about the plot or just about anything. Thank you so much.

I would also like to thank the people who took the time and effort to make this big bang happen. You're truly wonderful and I'm glad and honored to be a part of it. Thank you all so much.

And last but not least, Sketchydonuts, you're more than an artist. You're a genius! I couldn't have asked for a better cover. My most sincere thanks and eternal gratitude.

xxLiv

* * *

**1.**

It may have been ten minutes or ten years. Regina's lost count of it. The darkness of her prison enveloping all there is to her, mind included.

It's a less kind curse than the one she has cast once upon a time. Whereas her victims couldn't know what they were missing, couldn't recall their old lives, for the happiness or the tragedy of them, her conviction has allowed her little else.

Little things tell her time has passed. The way her hair goes down her back now and the tiny wrinkles on her hands. The small rat that found its way to her cell while running from the shadows and went from little to old, to dead. Most of all, it's in the blurriness of her memories once they start getting old and well-worn.

How much, really, she can't tell.

In the darkness, time stands still while her mind never stops. Everything she's done, all the choices that have led her to where she lays now (where she must stay for the rest of her days) playing over and over again in her mind.

Some things, she will never forget.

Daniel's cold lips against her own. Her mother's lessons on love. Snow's betrayal. The bitterness that took place in her darkening heart and consumed her steadily and slowly for the years to come. How her father's heart had felt in her hands in her desperate attempt to escape that ruined life.

But even the good things, the one good thing – Henry - starts becoming a blurred memory getting lost by the minute.

She tries to hold on to it, to him, but all that's dark within her stains what little is good. And just like that, it doesn't take long (or does it?) until the things she remembers get mixed up with her hopes and wishes... Illusions made almost palpable by a constant and restless frenzy while her nightmares, born in her past actions, come to life just as vividly.

So she sleeps and she dreams. Then she wakes up and her dreams follow her.

Soon, Regina can't tell the difference.

Sometimes it's Henry who visits her - his age and appearance changing according to her current mood.

Sometimes he's barely six, still having trouble with the pronunciation of the big words, still missing a tooth right up front, happy to share the little nothings of his day. Then he's ten, not afraid to speak his mind, accusing her for all she's done and acknowledging her for who she really was: The Evil Queen.

Sometimes he loves her, most times he doesn't.

It hurts but so does the vision of what could have been had she not lost the war.

Had she not lost herself.

It happened when Cora died by her hands, but under Snow's volition. She remembers her mother's voice telling her she would have been enough once her heart had been put back in place. Then, with her last breath, all turns into haze and Regina's last fragmented memory is of herself holding the trigger that would turn Storybrooke into ashes had Emma not gotten to her in time.

And that had been it.

Afterwards, no other chance would be given to the woman who once again had threatened so many lives.

Regina remembers Henry's face when her sentence was announced. She may not have been able to touch it, but she could still feel his heart breaking.

The look he had given her then will hunt her for as long as she lives.

Either way, hurt or no hurt, she still prefers the sight of her son to the others.

Snow, the overbearing child, the condescending princess. Cora, the heartless witch, the disappointed mother. Rumple the trickster, the mentor. Daniel, the sweet boy, the walking corpse. And Emma, the savior, the hero. The one who stole her son and her happy ending.

They come as ghosts, haunting her and filling the holes left by loneliness all the same. Then they disappear, thin as air, leaving nothing but Regina's voice echoing in the dark dungeon.

And, of course, there is herself. Selves.

The innocent girl she has been and lost. The bitter newlywed. The vengeful queen. The powerful mayor.

In so many ways she has disappointed all of them and they're not afraid to say it, laying her mistakes right in front of her eyes one after another.

So when Regina receives a real visitor, it doesn't come as a surprise simply because she can't tell it is real, her sanity hanging by a thin veil, too close to being lost completely.

"Well, well, well… To whom do I owe the honor of **this** visit?"

The stranger hides in the shadows at first and his movements tell little of his true identity. He is swift, dexterous. Slim and graceful. Young, most definitely. But that's about it. Regina raises an eyebrow intrigued, her tone regal despite the circumstances. "Care to reveal yourself?"

He does so. Stepping up into the light that embraces his figure like an aura. A young man he is, tall and slightly too skinny, his hair overgrown and bleached by the constant exposition to the sun. Regina stares, appraising him with interest. His long limbs and the way he holds himself vaguely familiar, and his eyes, hidden underneath his shaggy fringe almost like a mask, giving her a strange gut feeling.

"You don't recognize me?" His baritone voice is shaky, probably because he's still learning how to manage it. Or perhaps because he is nervous. What she could only understand if he were…

No.

It can't be.

He takes a step closer, his clothes dirty and way past worn times.

It could be, but it shouldn't.

Because this means her boy is a man. And Regina has seen grown up Henry. In her daydreams he is always confident, almost cocky, but he still uses cardigans and jeans, still knows what a haircut is, and more importantly, he is well nurtured, healthy.

In her dreams Henry is far away, not in some fairytale land, or even Storybrooke, but in college, making a life of his own, on his way to become somebody, on his way to his happy ending.

This boy in front of her is **not** her son.

He can't be. Because if he is, then something went terribly wrong along the way.

Then again, that at least would explain what he's doing here.

"It's me." He approaches the cell, his hand running through his unruly hair revealing those unmistakable green eyes that Regina knows all too well, his words confirming her fears.

"My name is Henry…" He adds nervously a response to the ghost of doubts that haunts her eyes, his tone almost austere. "I'm your son."

.::.

She looks different than he remembers. Older. More tired. Also, slightly insane. Nothing he had expected, although, he probably wasn't being too realistic imagining he would find the same woman who had made his breakfast and put him to bed every day for the first ten years of his life as if no time had passed at all.

At first she looks at him like he's a figment of her imagination. Then, as his words find their way out, an unreadable expression takes place on her features.

For one second he thinks she won't believe it. Then her eyes become glassy with unshed tears and she swallows whole a sob, what is more disconcerting than anything he had envisioned for this encounter.

Because his mother is strong. Proud. Unyielding.

And the woman standing in front of him seems to be devoid of any of these qualities.

Instead Henry finds Regina small, frail… human.

She comes near the grid, where his hand is resting, her eyes so dark seeking for recognition, but when her hand touches his own, Henry repels the touch instinctively.

He can see the hurt flash in her eyes, which is almost familiar, but then, within seconds, Regina is gathering herself with as much dignity as possible, gaining some resemblance to the woman he once knew.

"Why are you here?" It's the question she directs to him somberly, suspicion blending with concern.

Henry had a speech rehearsed. It involved doing the right thing this time around, one last shot proving that there's more to the woman whose title alone still frightens little children. He would tell her that this is her chance to be the hero.

The truth, however, is much less honorable than that.

"I haven't forgiven you, if that's what you're asking." His words blurt out taking him by surprise, which, by Regina's versed expression, isn't received in the same manner.

"It isn't." She replies stonily, and Henry feels some of his anger deflate with the lack of fire.

"Something bad has happened." He averts his eyes, unsure of just how much he should reveal. However, years of imprisonment haven't given Regina much tolerance to reticence.

"That much I have gathered." She states unimpressed. "So you need my help?"

"WE need your help." Regina nods comprehensively, giving a step back and embracing her own body while balancing the meaning of Henry's words.

"What makes you think I would help these people you call family?" She inquires then, her frankness taking Henry by surprise.

He doesn't answer right away, pondering quietly and deciding his adoptive mother deserves the same kind of honesty she's offering him.

"For the same reason as ever, I suppose." He looks at her right in the eyes for what feels like the first time in decades, even though it's been no longer than five years.

"For me."

.::.

His logic is undisputable. Manipulative, yes, but Regina can't really hold that against the boy. She supposes that was a lesson he has learned from her own book. His wish, on the other hand, is rather optimistic, a trait clearly inherited from those idiotic Charmings.

The thought alone makes her wince.

"You must be quite desperate if you're willing to take such a high risk trusting a convicted villain to save you all."

Her guess is as good as any and even though Henry doesn't give her a direct answer, Regina can still find clues in his silence. Intrigued by her findings, she pushes it further. "What happened to your 'Savior'?"

"My **mom** is fine." Henry shoots back, curtly. "Listen, I'm not interested in whatever dispute there may still exist between you and Emma or you and my Grandma, ok? This thing we are facing is much bigger than all of that."

The anger in Henry's tone doesn't surprise Regina, but the gravity of it increases her concern while Henry decides finally to put the cards on the table. Some of them, at least.

"Now, I know it has been a long time, and a lot has happened ever since, but for almost a year after the curse was broken you made it your mission to make me believe that you cared for me. That you truly cared for me."

"I did." Regina claims resolute. The sincerity of her words revealing her vulnerability for the briefest moment. "Henry- I still care."

"Then prove it." He says defiantly. "Help us defeat this thing."

"I don't even know what 'this thing' is."

"Does it matter?"

Regina looks at Henry then, really looks at him, and for a moment she doesn't see the young man with unruly hair and sharp angled features. Doesn't see the bitterness earned by his years and marked on his expression lines.

She sees her son.

The baby who would keep her awake when he had a belly ache. The boy who stained the kitchen floor by opening a can of blueberry jam in order to prepare her a surprise breakfast when he was eight. The first and only person to whom she has ever said 'I love you' after Daniel.

And the answer, simple and undeniable, finds her lips with no effort at all.

"No. It doesn't."

.::.

Henry moves fast with light steps and at first it's easy for Regina to follow him, the darkness of their path familiar in many ways to the former queen. However once they are approaching the higher ground, the fresh air and its properties start affecting her in ways she isn't prepared to, giving a heads up on what she's about to face. And when they finally get close enough to the way out, the light is more than she can handle; her eyes overly sensitive from the years in nearly blind incarceration.

Regina stops then, abruptly, seeing nothing but white spots and something else starts tingling in her, the feeling familiar and unsettling all the same.

Not the small amount she has been given access in order to survive in her prison. No, this is something else entirely. This is magic that has been accumulating over the years with no release. Maturing. And now it's finally being set free in her system.

It feels different than when Rumplestiltskin released magic in Storybrooke. This time around, it feels like Regina is being drowned by it from inside out.

The effort she needs to find the hold of it gives her pause, her physical awareness for the change of environment momentarily forgotten.

A few steps ahead, Henry notices the absence of the sounds of her steps and turns around only to be taken by surprise by his own eyes.

Breathing heavily, Regina is looking down to her own hands, a bright spot of energy being contained with visible effort. And like she can sense his attention on her – which is probably a motherly kind of superpower – her dark eyes find his, a crease forming in her forehead when she tries to speak and not loose hold of whatever is happening to her powers.

"It's okay." She says in a raggedy tone and Henry steps back, cautiously.

"It doesn't look ok." His eyes are huge and his voice a few tones higher. "What the heck is that?"

"Nothing for you to worry about."

"It is if there's a chance you might blow us up."

"Henry, just give a moment." Her breathing is shallow. "Please."

He wasn't there when she had the trigger in her hands. Emma had been the only true witness and whatever happened between the two of them had been silently guarded by the blonde sheriff, even when the whispers of gossip had lost interest in the tale of the Queen with terrorist tendencies.

Still, he had always wondered. And now, Henry suddenly feels like he doesn't really want to know what his adoptive mother is really capable of. Stories and tales had been one thing, but witnessing it in first hand, completely overrated. And more than slightly terrifying – especially when Regina doesn't seem to have a very good control of it.

Henry finds himself with two choices then. To stay or to run. And while running is pretty much a basic instinct, he is not about to surrender to it, if not for honor, for sheer pride. After all, people are counting on him to accomplish this mission. Well, sort of.

So, even though staying means to trust the mother who has betrayed him before by the use of magic, the truth is this is the very same magic that now he finds himself in need of.

(And boy isn't that a kick on the teeth. Metaphorically speaking.)

That being so, cold sweat and fighting his instincts, Henry stays.

And is amazed to see, after a couple minutes, the ball of light shrinking until it disappears between Regina's clasped hands.

"Thanks." She says with a tremulous smile and Henry is not sure why, but it makes him uncomfortable all the same.

"Is everything under control there?" He asks fearfully, a hint of concern made aware by his eyes, even if not by will.

"As much as it can be." Regina warrants him with ease, to what Henry's response seems to be automatic when he finds himself able to breathe again just by such small assurance. Even after all the years.

"Then we should get going. There's a long way ahead of us and the night might make the journey more difficult. Trust me when I say, we don't want that."

"I thought we were returning to Storybrooke." Regina points out, confused by the alluded distance. The mines where her prison was made were never that far away from the city.

"We are." Henry confirms with a frown and she can see plain and clear he's holding back much more than he's comfortable saying. "Just not the Storybrooke you remember."

.::.

The walk is made in silence and Regina tries not reading much into it. She fails, of course, everything in her studying carefully the most insignificant changes in her son's demeanor and whatever information he has shared with her so far, which is barely any.

Something terrible has happened, that much she can tell with no difficulty. And it's not just by the fact that her son and the group of people he calls family have decided to ask **The Evil Queen** for help, but because he seems older beyond his years in ways that are not endearing or motive of pride to a mother, but rather unsettling instead.

Whatever it may be, Henry seems reluctant in talking about it even though he has engaged her as part of his secretive mission. In fact, the boy seems reluctant to talk just about anything, his stoic silence a disruptive trait when compared to just how talkative he had been for as long as Regina has known him.

She tries to respect his wishes at first, to respect the distance he has cast upon the two of them, but something inside of her tells her to do just about the opposite thing.

Call it a mother's instinct. Years in a dungeon haven't erased that.

Only her approach this time around is remarkably subtle – something her younger self never could muster.

"Henry, just how exactly did the key to my cell come to your possession? If I'm not mistaken, only one person had access to it, and I find it hard to believe she would have simply handed it over to you, whatever the circumstances may be."

Henry doesn't stop walking, though surprised by Regina's line of questioning, not sure of what she intends to accomplish by it.

"You wouldn't believe if I told you." He answers with a private smirk, but ends up taking the bait. "Why does it matter anyway?"

"Normally I would say it doesn't. But your hesitancy in telling me so, says otherwise."

"You're free. Why do you care about that?"

"Having Rumple for a mentor has taught me to be very careful with the deals I make. Indeed I am free, but to what cost?" The mention to Rumplestiltskin's name giving Henry pause.

"If you're worried about me making a deal with the devil, don't. I haven't." Henry presses his hand against his eyes, clearly bothered by the current exchange. "Then again, if I had, you would be the last person with the right to call me on it, wouldn't you?"

It isn't his insolence what fazes Regina, not particularly. It's just how wrong he is.

"Oh no, Henry. I would be exactly the one to do so. Because I've done it. And I know precisely the price."

She utters it with unwavering confidence and an incisive look, to which Henry can't reciprocate for much long. Still a kid, she recognizes behind all the bravado and inches taller once he backs down, angry and hurt.

"I wouldn't worry about Mr. Gold anyway." Henry mumbles surly. "He's not in the picture anymore."

"What do you mean not—" Regina's words are cut off by an indistinctive sound that comes from the woods and Henry's reaction to it.

Something is dragging itself through the foliage and Henry looks more alert than she has ever seen him. His shoulders tense as his hand instinctively starts looking for something in his threadbare backpack.

A knife, Regina recognizes alarmed as the sound indicates not only the oncoming threat, but the fact that it's in large number.

As in multiple.

She tries to conjure a fireball, but her body hasn't recovered from the overload of magic just yet and she is left with empty hands and a gut feeling that they are about to face the exact danger Henry has mentioned before. Only outnumbered and unprepared.

"Whatever you do," Henry comes near her, protectively, his broad shoulders serving her as a shield. "Don't let them bite you."

Who are they? The question dies on her lips once the creatures reveal themselves.

Born and raised in the Enchanted Forest, daughter of a witch, pupil of an imp and having magic herself, plus access to all kinds of magical creatures and kingdoms, Regina has come across just about anything: cyclops and giants, krakens and dragons, unicorns and griffins, mermaids and werewolves, wraiths and banshees… You name it, she's seen it.

Being the Evil Queen, Regina has not only brought death, leaving a red trail of blood where she passed, but she has faced it with her head held high more times than she can think of it. Most times unafraid. Sometimes, willingly.

Death however has never faced her back. That is… until now.

They grunt as loathsome animals, men and women, but really just what's left of them. Their flesh has been eaten and what's left is rotten and grubby, greasy and putrescent.

They move slowly but surely, attracted by the scent of life emanating from Regina and Henry. The first one to reach them, Henry takes down with a struck on the cavity of its eye. The violence of the act and just how naturally it comes to her son is more shocking to Regina then the presence of these despicable creatures itself.

She steps back stunned. Henry doesn't seem to notice her reaction though, more concerned with the rest of the horde. All the movement seems to wake them from their stupor, and together they advance in Henry's direction.

Henry vigorously pulls out his knife from the dead body and launches it against the next one. A third falls on top of the boy and his attacker and Regina finds herself compelled to act. With a heavy rock in hands she casts herself against the creature and hits it right in the head with all her force.

It's enough for it to fall back on the ground, but not enough to kill, so Regina strikes it one more time. And another. And another, until there's only a red splotch on the ground.

Henry, who still has a dead body over his own, observes the scene frozen in place, and that's how Regina finds him as she looks at his direction, wild eyes and blood smearing her hands.

"You said not to let them bite." She pushes her disheveled hair from her face with the back of her hand. "That included you. Right?"

"Yeah." Henry shakes his head, coming back to his senses as another creature charges against Regina.

He rolls off underneath the body that was on top of him, but is still half his way to his adoptive mother when a dagger passes right by his head and impales the creature against a tree nearby.

Both Regina and Henry look back in time to catch a mass of blonde hair moving swiftly with a sword, decapitating the last three creatures with ease, their expressions equally perplex, albeit for different reasons.

"Ma." "Emma." Their voices run in unison and the former sheriff wipes the sweat off her face, before squashing one last head with the heel of her leather boot.

With blood and mud on her shoes, Emma Swan finally greets mother and son, an infuriating smug grin plastered over her face.

"Now… Just how badass was that entrance, huh?"

.::.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

While Henry has changed quite substantially, especially on the surface, Emma seems to have remained exactly the same, which includes the red leather jacket and the annoying sense of confidence. At least, this time around, her timing hasn't been completely terrible.

Their teenage son, however, seems to think otherwise.

"Ma, what are you doing here?" He frowns and stomps his feet leading Regina to notice that the way Henry whines hasn't changed either.

"Gee, I don't know… How about: saving your butt!" She cleans the blood from the blade of her sword with a piece of rag and walks toward the tree where her dagger is still stuck. "You're welcome, by the way."

"We didn't need your help." Henry insists, stubbornly, shaking the dust off of his own clothes with annoyance written all over his face. Emma can always see Regina in his features when he makes this face. Given how many times she's seen it over the last years and the situation they are facing at the moment, she finds it neither surprising nor endearing.

"The pile of dead bodies says otherwise, kid." The blonde inspects her dagger before tucking it in her holster and then turns to Regina, facing her for the very first time. "Long time no see, your Majesty."

"Well, thank you for your assistance Miss Swan. Good to know that your sword skills have finally improved." Regina assesses with pretend nonchalance, suddenly bothered by the stains of blood on her hands.

Her expression must reveal her discomfort, because without a second thought, Emma is handing Regina her own piece of dirty rag. The brunette doesn't hide her distaste, but given no other option, accepts the gesture.

"I had it under control." Henry insists, ignoring the small exchange between his mothers. "You need to stop treating me like a little kid."

Rolling her eyes and at the end of her very short fuse, Emma doesn't hold back despite Regina's presence. "Listen Henry, if you didn't want to be treated like a child maybe you should have thought better than sneaking out in the middle of the night and disobeying strict orders."

"I did what had to be done. You know there was no other way." Henry defends himself, but Emma's blow has visibly gotten to him.

"Maybe. But this decision wasn't yours to make." Even if the blonde's words are softer, they remain stern.

The boy doesn't really have a reply to that. "It's getting late. We should go…"

He walks up front, silently commanding Regina and Emma to follow, what they do. Regina doesn't have anything to say just yet, still processing what she has just witnessed.

Uncomfortable for being caught in the position of having to school her son by no other than Regina, Emma shrugs. "Teens huh?"

Regina remains contemplative then, the only answer given to Emma belonging to the sound of their steps on the terrain full of dry leaves while they follow Henry.

.::.

"Perhaps you can enlighten me about this whole situation I'm about to walk in." Regina's voice breaks the silence after almost an hour long journey. She speaks lowly though, as not to upset the sullen teenager who leads the trio.

"What has the kid told you?" Emma replies in the same tone, her eyes glued to Henry's figure.

"Very little, I'm afraid." Regina decides not to focus on Henry. "Those things that attacked us back then for example came as an unpleasant surprise."

"Then he just about skipped the main course." Emma frowns astonished. "Those things… are the very reason why we are royally fucked."

Regina winces at the use of such language, but refrains to censure Emma, more concerned with whatever she has to say. "What were they?"

"Seriously?" Emma stops walking, a look of disbelief framing her expression. "Have you never come across zombies before?"

Regina should probably be offended by Emma's tone. And perhaps she would have, if her words hadn't unlocked such terrible memories from her past.

She thinks of Daniel, sweet, gentle Daniel, being brought from death by Victor's schemes. His hands, so cold, enveloping her neck and pressing it hard. His voice embedded by pain supplicating for release. The heart that wasn't really his pulsating unnaturally inside his dead body.

Regina shivers involuntary, the words bitter when she admits. "Not like this. No…"

Whatever Emma reads in her face, her instincts tell her not to pry, to which Regina is mutely grateful.

"Well, we don't really know what caused it or how this whole thing got started, only how it happens. Your heart stops beating and a couple seconds later you wake up hungry for people. Anything alive really. And the only way to get it dead once and for all is…"

"By hitting it on the head." Regina remembers Henry doing it, an image she probably will never forget.

"Exactly." Emma resumes their walk, accompanied by Regina. "This thing wasn't caused by magic or anything like it. At least we don't think so, but only because as far as we know it happened in a worldwide scale. Storybrooke actually remained protected for a while longer, because of the barrier and all. But then the barrier was lifted and things went to hell."

Regina absorbs Emma's words stunned. In all the time she lived in Storybrooke always seeking revenge, Regina had never considered the threats brought up by this land. Especially nothing like this.

"When did all this happen?"

"About a year after you got locked up? It's hard to keep tabs with the lack of technology. At least for me... But I'm sure Whale has it all figured out in a calendar somewhere in his den."

"And Storybrooke?"

"It's a ghost town now. Only the ghosts wander through what is left of the city and have an appetite for living things." Emma shrugs as if this whole thing were something natural and not some horror tale, what Regina considers to be the most terrifying part of all.

Because if Emma Swan has surrendered, she is not sure of what is left to save.

"Then where are we heading to?"

"We're here!" Regina's question is cut off by Henry's voice announcing the arrival to their destination. The woods where they have been walking giving place to a paved road and then the gray sand.

From between some bushes and a pretty obvious hiding place, a small wooden boat is revealed as the boy starts dragging it to the sea with considerable effort.

"Kid, next time, try a better cover ok? Someone could have found it, and then Merry Jerry would have been history." Emma says taking her boots off and walking to the boy's direction to offer him some assistance into taking the small but heavy cockleboat to the water. "And, by the way, you could at least have given me a heads up on your little plan so I wouldn't have to come after you like friggin' Flipper."

"You can't be serious!" Regina puts no effort into hiding her surprise or disbelief. Two pairs of green eyes suddenly alert to her reaction. "You are not thinking that I'll actually put myself in harm's way by embarking this sad excuse for a watercraft, are you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes we are. Unless you are planning on staying here by yourself and starting a campfire, your Majesty. What I wouldn't particularly advise because you know… dead people!" Emma states sarcastically and is rewarded with a death glare.

Trying to put away any fires before they start, Henry gets in between the two of them.

"Mom, it's the only way for us to get to the Jolly Roger."

"Unless you don't mind evoking your inner mermaid…" Emma adds muttering to herself.

Henry's explanation is given patiently, as to a young child, but what really gets to Regina is the fact that he has called her 'mom' for the first time in a long, long time.

Something inside her chest aches. And then the rational part of her brain regains its function.

"Jolly Roger?"

It's Emma who provides her with the confirmation of what seems to be the most absurd idea of all times. And also the only reason why they might still be alive.

Far away, Regina sees the ship in the middle of the blue water, seemingly untouched by the horrors that have been haunting this land. And by the looks in Henry and Emma's faces, this is it.

Regina sighs.

This definitely wasn't what she was expecting.

.::.

Sunset is singeing the sky with pink and orange shades when they finally approach Hook's ship. Henry and Emma have done most of the work – well, all the work – after refusing to let Regina use her powers to speed the trip, for reasons she has yet to understand. Surely by now her grip on her powers is under control, but somehow that doesn't seem to be the only issue.

What Regina would have insisted on finding out, had Emma not suddenly stopped rowing to give her a direct warning.

"So this is it. Show time. Please, whatever you hear, let **me** do the talking, ok?"

She doesn't really have a chance to object, the small boat being lifted by ropes while voices cheer their return before she can even react.

That is, until her presence is noticed.

Then all the cheer, in fact, all the noise fades, leaving only a constricted silence in place. That's when all becomes clear, beginning with Henry and Emma's altercation in the forest. It wasn't just because he had gone after his adoptive mother by himself, putting his life at stake in an act of reckless rebellion.

It was because he had gone without everybody else's consent.

And now, here is Regina, in a ship, surrounded by a huge ocean facing a very unwelcoming reception. Not that she isn't used to it, being the big bad villain and all that.

But this will certainly make things more difficult, after all how can she rescue them all when clearly they don't trust her or even want her to?

Thankfully, this is now Emma's problem.

.::.

Emma isn't particularly surprised by the group's reaction to Regina's presence. For all their talking of being the good guys and helping people in need, they surely seem willing to pick a side whenever is more convenient.

Then again, given Regina's history, the side where she is not it's most likely the more convenient. And safer.

The thing is, as far as Emma is concerned, years have passed, times have changed and priorities have definitely altered. Doesn't all that count for something?

Apparently, not as much as she would like to.

"What is this witch doing here?"

Grumpy is the first to declare his discontentment taking one step ahead, positioning himself in front of her mother, somewhat protectively, whereas Snow, the one who allegedly had more reasons to object to Regina's presence, much to her daughter's wonder, remains impassive, her eyes studious over Regina's figure.

Truthfully, Emma can hardly blame her. She herself had been taken aback when she first saw Regina in the woods after all these years. And that had almost nothing to do with the fact that she had just killed a zombie with her bare hands.

The former mayor looks so different; No wonder the crew hasn't been able to identify her as the presence accompanying Emma and Henry on their approach to the Jolly Roger. Surely her manners seem to have remained the same, as well as her 'winning' personality but physically, Regina might as well be a completely different woman – at least from what Emma used to know.

For starters the impeccable outfits are gone giving place to a very simple gray vesture, the same one she had received on trial, only much more worn and washed-out. As clean and pristine as Regina may have kept it – before the bloody altercation she faced earlier, that is – they sure as hell are a long shot from the fine couture the woman has always favored.

Her hair, that before had been kept short and flawless, is now longer than Emma has ever seen it, wavy and uneven, despite Regina's best efforts to tame the dark locks. And of course, there is this pastiness that has never belonged to her skin tone up until now. Which, personally, Emma thinks doesn't suit her at all, making Regina look even frailer when added to just how little meat she has on her bones nowadays.

Nevertheless, as tiny as she is without her high heels and looking like the wind is enough to blow her away, with a single look and no need for words, Regina goes from fragile to grim, which can only mean bad bad things if Emma doesn't intervene.

"It's actually a funny story," Emma speaks out loud, commanding all the attention to herself while stepping in front of Regina.

"Can't say we share your sense of humor Swan." Hook says rather somberly standing next to Ruby, who discreetly reaches for her dagger, and Emma can't say if she does it as a mere precaution or with a different intent. Whatever it may be, Henry seems to notice the heavy atmosphere, staying very much alert by Regina's side.

"You haven't even heard the story yet." Emma doesn't give up, her eyes sharply observant as she manages a halting smile.

"Don't you remember what she did last time? And everything else before that? Sister, this hag is bad news." Grumpy advocates vehemently.

"The dwarf has a point. You should know that no story with the Evil Queen ends with laughter, Miss Swan." Whale adds with a creepy look in his face that gives Emma goosebumps just by the looks of it. Whatever good he has done ever since they rescued him, she can never shake the feeling that something is off when it comes to Doctor Frankenstein. And his special interest in zombies certainly hasn't helped his case over the last couple years.

So the reaction is considerably worse than she had envisioned. Emma can still handle that. She's certainly handled worse. She's just not sure of what her next move will be exactly.

Much to her relief, that is the precise moment when Pongo comes out barking and jumping over Regina with nothing but indescribable enthusiasm. Taken by surprise, Regina staggers backwards, needing Henry's help to keep her balance while the Dalmatian welcomes the former queen with nothing but wet kisses and yaps of joy.

"For heaven's sake, can someone control this animal?" Regina manages to complain under the fuss and Henry does his best to do just that, while everyone else looks more than just a bit surprised by the dog's surge of affection for the Evil Queen.

Emma is about to come to her rescue as well when, right after Pongo, as fast as his tiny legs allow him, comes a little blonde boy who embraces both of her legs fiercely.

"You are back!" The boy beams offering a big smile that makes Emma's heart swell just a little, despite all the tension.

And as a charm, the kid's presence pushes just about everyone back to their corners of the ring.

"Hey shorts." Emma pats his had with a fond smile. Then, coming back to her senses, her posture stiffens as she commands. "Henry, show Regina my quarters. And make sure to take Evan and Pongo with you."

"Emma," Snow is about to say something, but Emma cuts her off.

"Not now, mom." She says curtly then looks defiantly to the rest of the crew who stares at her in silence, her voice low and peremptory. "Now all of you listen to me…"

As she is being lead by Henry and the young child who looks strikingly like Emma, the last thing that Regina is able to hear before getting inside the ship is Emma's resolute tone as her voice rises. "-and whether you like it or not, it's decided. She stays."

.::.

Despite putting to use the best of her authoritative tone and leadership skills, the heated debate between the small group of survivors lasts a insufferable amount of time. She gets her way in the end, but only barely and much is due to her mother's support.

"I'm glad you found Henry before anything bad happened." Snow says letting one hand rest over her daughter's shoulder, while she sits in a box on the poop deck – a place Emma has grown used to visit whenever her thoughts become too loud. The place where Snow knew she would be.

"Yeah. We were lucky you noticed Henry's absence so soon." Emma notes with a long-lasting look, waiting for Snow's confession. Her mother doesn't let her wait for long.

"I'm sorry. I know it was a stupid thing to do, giving him that key. But you must know I only did it because I knew you would be there to protect him, right?"

Snow seems genuinely distressed, what makes Emma's fury simmer down, but not enough so Emma forget the risk she's taken. "That was really screwed up. Something really bad could have happened, you know that."

"I do. And if I could I would have been the one to go after Regina to ask for her assistance, but we both know that had that been the case, I would have returned empty-handed." Snow explains although there's no real need for it. "And you know Regina's is the only person who can help us now."

"Yeah, well, I know that, Henry knows that and you know that, but everyone else seems to think otherwise. Which really isn't helpful at all." Emma confides, letting it show the weight that has been hanging over her head ever since they brought Regina – and maybe even before.

"Well, they have accepted her presence for the time being, and that is something." Snow tries to be optimistic and is presented with an inquisitive look by her daughter, as if she were trying to figure her out and couldn't quite put all the pieces together.

It lasts less than a minute, Emma's unmistakable sarcasm blending through her words making it hard to distinguish just how much of what she's saying has real meaning.

"Sure, but I still feel like I should put a security detail after her or we might find her in pieces when we last expect."

"Oh honey," Snow smiles knowingly, a long lost spark in her eyes when she tells her. "You don't have to worry about Regina. If there's one thing I'm sure not even time has been able to erase is the fact that she is more than capable of taking care of herself."

.::.

"How are you finding your new quarters, your Majesty?" Emma jests lamely, once she finally brings herself to take a look at how the former mayor is doing within her new surroundings.

"I've seen much better." Regina replies, simply, sitting on Emma's bunk without ever losing the poise. "But I've certainly seen worse as well."

The humility in Regina's observation takes Emma by surprise, throwing her off her game and making her opt for a more serious approach.

Her almost overwhelming exhaustion might have something to do with it too.

"So… Now you know the story. A big part of it, anyway... Still up for the task?" Emma rests her body against the wall, arms crossed as she inspects Regina by using her superpower and other observational skills as well. "I mean, we both know what Henry expects you to do, but in the end it's really up to you."

"You make it sound as if it was a matter of choice, when clearly neither you nor I have any."

"I guess you're right." Emma gives in with a sigh. "But I can still remember how it sucks to have this big weight thrown at your shoulders with no fair warning, so I guess this was me trying to soften the blow."

Regina doesn't reply right away, her figure stagnated in a pensive posture, until the words finally find the right shape to be liberated.

"Was this how you felt when he first showed up at your door all those years ago?"

Emma's memories emerge as a flooding river. Henry's face then so little, so innocent. His calling her a savior when she had been anything but, trusting her to do what was right, and believing more in her than she ever did.

"You mean expecting me to do just about the impossible?" Emma offers with just the right understanding of what Regina is referring to. A bittersweet smile blooming in her lips when she gives her an answer. "Yeah… pretty much."

.::.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

On the next morning, Regina finds the whole crew gathered around a big table sharing the first meal of the day.

Snow seems to be the official cook, while everyone else remains scattered through the small improvised kitchen. Grumpy and Henry play cards under the attentive eyes of the small child Regina now knows to be Snow and Charming's offspring. By their side, Victor reads a book while drinking a mug of some steamy liquid as on the other side of the table Ruby and Hook talk in hushed whispers, the way his only hand rests in her leg giving away far more than Regina cares to know about their entanglement.

Sat by the end of the table, Emma is the first to notice her presence, her spoon freezing halfway to her mouth as her eyes look up in anticipation to whatever Regina is about to announce. What Regina does, but not before letting out a dramatic sigh.

"I wanted to let you know that after some consideration, I believe to have come up with a feasible plan." Her posture is stiff and she doesn't look directly at anyone during her declaration.

"Well luv, care to share your brilliant plan?" Hook says with curiosity but also mirth, getting a not so subtle nudge from Ruby under the table. His smile falters but his message gets through and through.

"It's nothing ingenious so I'm sorry if it comes to you as a disappointment pirate, but the truth is there's only one thing that can get us out of the situation we find ourselves in, and this thing is, of course: Magic."

"**Your** magic." Ruby assesses without hiding her suspicions, which Regina chooses to ignore, despite keeping herself aware of the wolf's smallest movements.

"I will open a portal so we can all escape to another land. Hopefully, one that has not been infected by these vile creatures."

"You would know a thing or two about vile creatures, wouldn't you?" Grumpy's comment is filled with spite, what irritates Regina but not enough to distract her from her task. Instead, she merely rolls her eyes at the dwarf's presence – or most likely, his existence.

"In order to do it so, I will need to go back to Storybrooke. There I shall find the items required to create such portal." She explains rationally. The lack of response however, compels her to add. "This is, from my perspective, our only chance."

The group's reaction is nothing Regina has expected.

Surely she had known they wouldn't simply embrace whatever she had to say with open arms – or minds – but given the alternative, she was hoping for some sort of relief at the very least. With all their differences and shared histories, she is still, quite literally, offering to all of them a way out.

Instead what she gets is an astounding silence and cumbersome reticence communicated by the exchange of several suspicious glares.

"Look, that's all I can offer. But if you prefer to stay here living like **this**… Be my guests." Regina snaps crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"That's not it, Regina." Emma offers a lame attempt to a clarification. "It's just that… This isn't the first time that someone has made us this offer."

"Oh." That takes Regina by surprise, her indignation crumbling in confusion. "Then why are you still here?"

"Because we were betrayed by the person who offered it." Emma replies, admitting the bitter truth.

"Should have listened to my gut and never trusted that damn Crocodile." Hook mumbles resentfully taking a swing at his flask and suddenly Regina can picture exactly what has happened.

If there were a person never to be trusted, it was Rumplestiltskin, a lesson she had learned at a high cost all those years ago. And, apparently, so had everyone else in this ship.

Regina scoffs at the ingenuity of these people.

"What did he have you do? A deal?" She mocks with complete disregard for the sensitive matter.

"It was much more complicated than that, ok?" It's all Emma is willing to tell. But the exchange of looks between her and Hook doesn't pass unnoticed by Regina. "Anyway, long story short, he opened the damn portal, got away and we are still stuck here."

"So pardon us if we don't want to make the same mistakes again, sister." Grumpy snares chewing what seems to be a very stale piece of bread.

"What makes you think you can create this portal, anyway?" Whale questions her, which Regina takes as a personal inducement, but before she can reply, Henry comes in her defense.

"She still has magic. Lots of it. I've seen it with my own eyes." He assures everyone. His words, however, have a distinct impact; reminding all of just how much of a threat Regina really is.

"How can this be?" Snow speaks for the first time and Regina is not sure of what she means. Then again, she can barely recognize the woman who might as well be her oldest acquaintance in this world.

In comparison to everyone in the small group of survivors, Snow seems to have been hit the hardest, which Regina is certain has to do with Charming's absence.

She just doesn't know what exactly.

"If you have your powers then what else do you need?" Ruby asks intrigued.

"Creating portals isn't that simple nor is traveling through them, especially with such a large group. I don't know what means Rumplestiltskin has used in order to escape, but last time I did it, I had to cast a curse to get it done." Regina explains poignantly. "This time, I was hoping for something less drastic."

"Does it involve any human sacrifices?" Emma raises her hand like a school girl. Her question as ridiculous as it is, unfortunately, very much relevant.

"No."

"Then count me in." The blonde replies good-natured. "So Storybrooke, huh? Do you have a list of the things you will need?"

"I don't need a list." Regina assures her confidently. "But given the changes in the environment, I wouldn't refuse a guide."

"More like an escort." Grumpy throws her a stingy look that is immediately returned.

"Well, I'm out. I wouldn't put my life at risk for the Evil Queen even if I were her vassal." Whale clears out stoically.

"Why am I not surprised?" Emma notes and rolls her eyes, placing a smirk on Regina's lips. An almost imperceptible one. "I'll go. Secure the queen and maybe even get some groceries. Sounds fun."

"Emma, no!" Snows voice suddenly rises among everyone else's and even the small boy who has remained silently observing through all the discussion seems alarmed by it. Snow, however, chooses to ignore everything around her. "It was one thing going after Henry to make sure he would return. But going back to Storybrooke is out of question."

Emma is about to reply when Snow adds the last blow. "Need I remind you of what happened last time?"

All eyes are short on the former sheriff, expectantly, and Regina can actually see something snap in her jaw at the blonde's attempt to remain composed.

With a serious–not up to debate–tone, Emma instructs her son. "Henry, take Evan upstairs."

Albeit vexed and frustrated, Henry obeys, tugging Evan by his hood on his way out. "C'mon buddy… Time to retreat our army."

The boy doesn't fight back, silently complying, but his big green eyes seem glued to Regina's figure until he leaves the room.

Once they are finally gone, Emma lets out what she's been holding back.

"Mom, we've talked about this."

"Emma, I won't have this discussion again."

"Staying forever in this ship is not an option! You know that!" Snow nods in disagreement and Emma tries to come near her, as if her touch would be enough to bring Snow to her senses.

Sensing her intentions, Snow steps back. "It's too dangerous. I won't have it."

"Mom…" Emma's voice is almost a whisper, as if it pains her to say it out loud. "I'm sorry, but you know that this may as well be our only shot."

Snow looks at her daughter then, her eyes filled with unshed tears. At this instant, Regina can't help but feel to be invading a very private moment between mother and daughter, what by the looks on everyone else's faces, is a shared feeling.

At the same time, none of them seem surprised by the display, what makes Regina suspect this is not their first time witnessing it.

"I can't lose you too. Not after what happened to your father." Snow's words are coarse, her face red as the tears stream down her face.

Emma touches Snow's cheek softly, offering what little comfort she can. "I can't promise that you won't. But you know I won't go down without a fight."

Then, the blonde embraces her mother in a tight hug, caressing her back while Snow's face disappears into her shoulder. Her sobbing even more evident given the lack of motion provided by the present ones.

That's how Regina comes to find the first of the many tragedies that have stroke during her time in exile.

The story of how Snow White has lost her Prince Charming once more, only this time, never to have him again in her arms.

Or so she had thought.

.::.

"Happy now?" The voice finds Regina in a contemplative state at the main deck, watching the constant sway of the sea.

She doesn't bother to turn into its direction, the owner's identity given away by his heavy accent and peculiar odor.

Regina is pretty sure that by now rum must run through Hook's veins instead of blood. "Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about the little scene we've come to witness downstairs." Supporting his arms on the handrail, Hook bends his body allowing his eyes to come to level with the horizon, before elaborating. "Snow White grieving for the loss of her true love."

"What about it?" Regina challenges him, a raised eyebrow and a lot of cynicism marking her words.

"Don't play coy with me, luv. It doesn't become you." He turns into her direction, attempting to touch Regina's chin in order to force her eyes to meet his own, but gets a slap on his hand for trying it.

"I'm not sure what you expect to hear from me." Regina huffs indignantly.

"I'm not sure either." He shrugs simply, his hair being mess by the wind. "I guess I wanted to know what it feels like. To have your vengeance accomplished. Mine, as you have heard, escaped through a portal."

"That's none of your business." Regina dismisses him coldly, but Hook doesn't give up easily.

"C'mon, luv. Just tell me. Are you happy? Ecstatic even? Gotta say, you know well how to keep the appearances. One can hardly tell."

Regina doesn't provide him with an answer and had she waited longer, Hook might have thought she had decided to ignore him completely. After a few moments though, she catches herself asking. "What exactly happened?"

"You want the juicy details? That's a whole new level of gruesome you know, even by my standards." Regina doesn't dignify Hook with a proper answer and afraid he might miss the chance, he opts by spilling the beans.

"It was about four winters ago, maybe. Their youngster was still on diapers, of that much I can remember. That was mainly the reason why Snow ended up staying at the Jolly that day. Something to do with feeding the kid with… hmm… Well, at the time Swan was still looking for survivors so every now and then we would form a group and go back to town. That's how Whale ended up here with us. And the bug's dog."

Regina wonders what may have happened to Archie, but decides not to interrupt Hook's narrative.

"Anyway, I was feeling a bit ill myself and ended up staying behind as well so I wasn't there when it happened. But Red told me all about it. They were about to come back. There hadn't been any survivors that day, but a handful of canned goods were found and that was even better. That's when Charming decided to go to some shop to try and find some baby's formula. Ruby was left to guard and he and Emma went inside together. Then, just like that, the roof fell apart and a bunch of those creeps came with it. Emma got stuck under some wreckage and Charming wouldn't leave without his girl. They managed to escape and he only noticed the bite upon their arrival. Whale suggested locking him in the cells in the basement then. He checked the bite, and said that had it been on his hand, arm or leg, he could have tried something. Mate didn't have such luck though. Snow spent his last hours by his side. And then he turned. A monster. Just like all the others."

Hook sighs heavily, despite his best efforts, unable to hide how much the story had affected him as well. In order to put up the façade, he offers Regina a grin that never reaches his eyes. "So there you have it. Just what you wanted, your Majesty."

Regina shakes her head then, Daniel's figure blurring her mind, alive but not really, a heart that was never his beating inside his chest. Regina had felt it and could never forget how when she took it away, after his painful demands, there wasn't even one last breath. Because he was dead already. So before Hook has a chance to make the same mistake again, she makes sure to tell him the truth.

"I never-**This** was not my doing." The mere suggestion incites her disgust. "**No one** should have to put an end to the life of a loved one themselves."

"Being that so, luv, you must not feel aggravated. No end was put to any lives by anyone, I assure you. Although at this point I'm not quite sure we can actually call that a living."

Regina's eyes, stark and astonished, seek Hook in a blink. "What are you saying?"

"That if you're looking for what's left of true love, you may find it in my ship's belly."

.::.

She doesn't have much to take with her. Storybrooke isn't that far away, a couple hours tops, and traveling light seems to be the safest way. Regina tries to tell Emma she can manage everything with her magic, but for some reason the blonde sheriff seems to strongly object to that.

Being that the case, Regina ends up carrying a small bag with two bottles of water, some unsavory snack, a borrowed knife from Ruby's collection and a 38 with 4 bullets.

Emma travels with a similar baggage and the only difference is her not exactly practical but very intimidating sword.

They decide to leave when the sun is rising on the very next morning and the sendoff is uncomfortable and gloomy. Henry tries to argue with Emma one last time, begging her to let him join their little expedition but she remains resolute, telling him the danger is too big and that she needs him to stay and take care of their family.

The boy doesn't take it well, accepting Emma's hug with a sullen expression and disappearing from sight once they get on the small boat.

Snow doesn't say anything else, but doesn't hide her dissatisfaction either. Evan is the only one smiling. Then again that's probably because he's too young to understand that this may be the last time he's seeing his big sister.

With a kiss on the top of his blonde locks, Emma says goodbye whispering something only to his ears. Then she hugs Snow who receives her arms stiffly. From far, Regina only observes.

Everyone else waves their goodbyes and the last thing Regina hears is Ruby's voice screaming as the small boat fight the waves on its way to land.

"Give them hell, Emma!"

The silence that surrounds them is too heavy and for once Regina feels the itch to break it.

"Henry seemed quite unhappy with your decision." She speaks conversely while picking the linens of her pants (one that she has made a point of conjuring herself thank you very much).

"Well, if you must know, I'm pretty sure you actually got the best years."

Regina does not argue that although words like infantile colic and explosive diarrhea come to her mind. Instead she takes a different approach.

"He hasn't changed that much. In fact I would dare to say he uses that same frown since he was 8 months old."

The mere allusion to a baby Henry makes Emma smile. "You mean the muppet frown."

Then something else seems to pervade her mind and obscure it once again. "The truth is all of us lost way too much to stay the same. This plague, this curse, it may make dead come to life but they aren't the only ones affected by it. I'd say change has been inevitable. To all of us."

Regina doesn't reply right away, absorbing Emma's words and the meaning behind it. When she speaks, her voice is somber and surprisingly sincere.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Charming."

The mention of his name is enough to make Emma go stark, the topic unequivocally sensitive to her. Regina respects it by saying no more and is rewarded with one last sentence before they go back to the impenetrable silence.

"Just make sure that, if by any chance I get bitten, I remain dead." Emma says without facing Regina directly. "I have no intention of sharing the same faith as my father."

.::.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, this is a more action-oriented chapter. Sorta. I had tons of fun writing it and I hope you can have at least a little bit by reading it. To the guest who left the review, thank you for taking the time and I hope you're reading this one too. xx Liv**

* * *

**4.**

So the thing is: Regina really really really hates long silences.

Most people wouldn't know that, especially given the amount of grief she's always given to people who are inclined to speak out their every whim. Babbling annoys her and she never had a high tolerance for stupidity as well.

But that doesn't change the fact that she hates long silences.

Long silences remind her of endless hours grounded for being unladylike, family dinners with her parents where the only thing anyone could hear was the clank of the dishes and the jingle of the silverware.

Long silences remind her of how much time she's spent in the stables never to hear Daniel's voice again. The tortuous nights when Leopold would come to her chambers and stay and she would just lay there unable to sleep and too afraid to make a sound, wake him up and have to serve to his wishes once again.

Long silences remind her of how empty her house in Storybrooke was before Henry's arrival and after his departure.

And now, long silences remind her as well of the many years she stayed imprisoned, having nothing but the sole company of her personal ghosts.

So yes, Regina can't stand long silences.

And being that so, after trying to control her impulses and give away what may as well be a very exposing weakness, Regina fails miserably as her voice fills the blank spaces between her, Emma and the woods that now surround them.

"This would be a lot more practical if we had a car."

Emma doesn't seem surprised by Regina's remark, replying without interrupting the pace. "They make too much noise. Attract unwanted attention. Besides, I'm not sure there's any gas left in Storybrooke."

"How about horses, then?" Regina insists, protecting her sight from the sunlight with one hand as she tries to take a glimpse on Emma's direction.

"We ate the last one about six months ago." Emma admits resigned.

"Oh."

Emma stops suddenly, the growling of those creatures now familiar to both of them, announcing their presence not too far away. In fact, it doesn't take long until at least two can be seen. Emma immediately reaches for her sword, wielding it with a silent movement.

Then she turns into Regina's direction and speaks as lowly as she can. "Stay back. But aware."

Regina, whose hand is already halfway through her things in search of the gun, follows her instructions never taking her eyes off the blonde woman.

Emma approaches the creatures quietly, but a misstep on some branch makes them aware of her presence.

It happens all too quickly. With the sword and one single maneuver Emma takes them down. Regina's hands are sweaty, even if just by observing it.

After cutting the heads off, Emma pierces them with her sword one last time to make sure they are no longer a threat.

Something on the ground however seems to capture her attention for longer.

"What is it?" Regina asks, walking in Emma's direction, not willing to risk speaking loudly and giving away their presence to more of those things.

She doesn't need an answer though, her eyes telling all there is to it once she gets close enough.

Under Emma's boots, stained with blood and a thick layer of dust, lays what's left of a sign.

Welcome to Storybrooke.

.::.

Afraid that the talking will draw more creatures, Regina manages to seal her lips as they continue their journey, however uncomfortable it may feel. Noticing her inquietude, it's Emma's turn to break the silence, and if she does it as a gesture of kindness or just because the feeling is troubling her as well, Regina can't tell.

"You never told me about your plan. The details of it, that is." Emma states when they are halfway to the city, her sword still dripping blood from her recent targets.

Regina, whose attention is divided between her surroundings and the confidence that not even magic will be able to save her trench coat from these disgusting stains, doesn't answer right away, so Emma insists slightly more annoyed.

"Exactly what are we going after?"

"Magical beans."

Her answer makes Emma stop on her mark. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Regina responds very serious indeed.

"Regina, that's not possible. The only one who had access to those was Anton and last time we saw him he said they had been stolen."

Regina raises an eyebrow and Emma's expression goes from skeptical to startled in record time. "**You** stole them?"

"Not the beans, just the sprouts, but yes, I did."

"I can't believe this!" Emma exclaims with plain disbelief marking her features.

"Now come on dear, you don't really think **that** is my most impressive deed, do you?" Regina argues, not quite understanding why the woman seems so baffled.

"All this time, and you had the solution right up your sleeve?"

"Which you would have known if you people hadn't chosen to lock me up and loose the key."

Regina's comment has the effect of wiping Emma's indignation off. The subject, one more to make a list of things neither of them has the desire to discuss.

"Well, that's it? That's all you need?"

"As I said, I only have the sprouts, so we will need to grow them in order to use it. Considering its magical properties it would come in hand to use some ingredients in the process, which I'm hoping we can find in Gold's old pawnshop."

Emma doesn't seem that optimistic. "I don't know about that. The place was already wrecked last time we've been here and that's been a while. Anyway, what makes you think the sprouts are still where you hid it?"

"Because only one person had the knowledge of its existence **and** access to it." Regina answers trying not to sound overly annoyed.

"And where's that?"

"A hidden chamber."

"Like Harry Potter's?" Emma makes a face, to what Regina answers vaguely.

"Not quite."

.::.

Storybrooke is a wreck and the sight of it makes Regina nauseated.

Both of them are standing behind the remains of an old post-office truck that has been knocked down and set on fire. Emma's is overseeing their surroundings, looking for any prospective dangers while Regina only manages to stare.

For all the years she had reigned over the Enchanted Forest, this town has always been her real kingdom. And the only place Regina has come to call home.

And now there's barely anything left of it.

With a blank expression, Regina takes in all the damage and destruction. By her side, finally noticing her shock, Emma expresses her solicitude. Sort of.

"Right. You hadn't seen it yet." She says lamely but doesn't seem shocked in the slightest. Regina has to remind herself that this is Emma's life now. And it has been for quite some time.

"How did things get like this?"

"It happened after the barrier was lifted. At first we had had some cases, but people were still talking about fighting it together and keeping the town safe. Then, once the barrier was down, Storybrooke became an easy target and shit hit the fan. People were freaking out and burning whole buildings and sacking stores to make their own provisions. You know the drill."

"That's horrid."

"Yeah. But that's also human nature, I guess." Emma shrugs unimpressed and Regina turns to her with an inquisitive look.

"But you manage to escape."

"We did. But not right away." Emma recalls with a distant look hanging over her features. "Mary Margaret wanted to stay and guide people to a safe haven or something. She thought it was her duty as their queen."

Emma says the word with caution, not sure of what Regina's reaction to a title that has always belonged to her will be. Regina, on the other hand, looks anything but surprised, so Emma goes on. "We almost managed to do it. There was a state in the town's surroundings and we took refuge there. It lasted a few months. We would take survivors in, offer them shelter, food, safety. Things were still bad, but not so much? We actually thought that we could start over there."

"What happened?"

"What always does. A couple of zombies snuck in and bit some people. They turned and bit some more people. Soon enough we had a horde. Too many to fight. We were forced to give up the place and hit the road. It wasn't easy. Mary Margaret was already pregnant then, and we lost a lot of good people. Granny, Archie, all the other dwarfs but Leroy. It was Neal who thought of looking for shelter on the Jolly Roger." The mention of Neal seems to upset Emma, because soon enough she's wrapping up her narrative. "And that's what we did."

Before Regina can ask anything else, the blonde throws her bag over one of her shoulders and announces. "We should get going. Gold's store isn't that far."

Taking the hint, Regina follows her without further enquiries. But still a lot of unanswered questions remain.

.::.

Gold's shop is hanging by shreds, but yet Regina manages to find most of the ingredients she's looking for. As to the rest, they will have to make do – and just how chipper she seems at the prospect of doing some magical shit should probably concern Emma, but only manages to make her think that Regina sounds rather nerdy. Like some kids she met in school who would get overly excited on chemistry classes.

Anyhow, as soon as they step out from what's left of Gold's shop, with a smile still lingering on the corner of her lips, Regina pronounces.

"Now we head to the cemetery."

What was absolutely not what Emma had in mind.

"Excuse me?"

"That's where my vault is."

"You mean your Voldemort chamber of secrets?" Emma makes a face. "For real?"

"You sound ridiculous." Regina says hardly containing her annoyance.

"Me? You're the one suggesting we go to the cemetery. C'mon! All we've done is try to stay away from those creepy walkers and now you want to go knocking on their door?"

Emma does nothing to hide her exasperation, to what Regina actually takes a minute of pondering before answering it.

"We don't have to knock on their door." She says, providing a glimpse of relief to Emma, even though it doesn't last long. "We can always sneak in."

"Well that's an even stupider idea."

"Then I challenge you to come up with another plan." Regina crosses her arms in front of her chest and raises an eyebrow.

Emma thinks and thinks and thinks. And come up with nothing but thin air and a list of names that Regina would strongly disapprove of.

"Fine." She gives in ruffled. "But if I die, I'll make sure to come back and bite you in the ass. Just like this whole plan is about to."

.::.

The cemetery is infested with creatures. What makes this a suicide mission. What Emma is sure to inform Regina of. Repetitively.

It makes Regina actually start appreciating silence.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to stab you and throw you to the creatures as a diversion while I get into my vault." Regina says rather emotionless and Emma can't quite figure out if she's being serious or not.

"That's actually a better plan than trying to sneak in and just hope that they don't see us." The look Emma receives seems definitely serious.

"Maybe we should wait until night time." Regina suggests ignoring her last comment.

"Nah. They don't really respond to light. I think it's all about smells and sounds. Like blind people. Or in this case blind dead cannibal people."

"In this case, a diversion might actually work."

"I was just kidding. I'm not actually going to let you stab me." Emma clarifies for the sake of it. Regina rolls her eyes with such intensity that must be painful. And by the look on her face it actually is.

"I was referring to something else." Regina says and then, she breathes in deeply gathering whatever little patience she can in order to get this thing done. "You said they are attracted to anything that is alive. We could use that."

"Maybe. But you've seen it yourself. There's nothing alive around here besides you and me."

"Yes, but we have magic. Perhaps we can charm something and make it look like it's alive and available as a target."

"You mean like using a Patronus?" Emma asks in awe.

"Why do all your magic references come from Harry Potter?" Regina doesn't wait for a reply. "No. If what you said about these creatures is true, I don't think a mere ghost would be enough to stir their attention. We would need something with more substance."

Emma's eyes spark with understanding, but then her shoulders slump. "You are thinking about the rabbit I caught earlier, aren't you?"

"Do you have any other suggestions?"

"Oh man… I was really hoping to have it later." Emma complains but doesn't show any intention of fighting back. It seems to be their only option after all. Then she asks rather wary. "Can you bring it back to life?"

"No!" The lack of understanding that Emma has about the magic world doesn't cease to baffle Regina and she has to keep reminding herself that this isn't her fault. After all, Emma never had someone like Rumple to teach her. Then again, she was probably the lucky one for that. "I would just make it move. Ideally away from us so those things would follow it and leave the path to my vault unobstructed."

"That may actually work. But just in case, keep the knife Ruby gave you in hand. And only use the gun as a last resort. It's too loud and usually only attracts more of those things. Also, we can't expect to go back unarmed."

Regina assents and Emma hands her the rabbit. Soon enough the animal is crossing the yard and the zombies dragging themselves after it.

Emma smiles widely and when she looks at Regina, she sees that the former mayor is smiling too. It's a thing of beauty really. How this plan worked, that is.

"Let's go." She says in order to escape whatever train of thought her mind has just wandered into.

They are almost there when Emma steps into unsteady ground and falls into a pothole that's been covered by grass. Regina is a few steps ahead when she realizes Emma is no longer on her trail.

"Emma?" She whispers trying to figure out where has the annoying blonde gone without letting the zombies notice her presence. "Emma!"

Regina goes back and is about to fall into the same hole when she hears a harsh whisper. "Watch out!"

At the sight of Emma sitting on the dirt inside a very deep grave, Regina looses it. "Your idiot! What do you think you're doing? Get out of there immediately!"

Somewhere along the field, a rabbit falls unanimated.

"Don't you think I would if I could? My ankle is hurting like a motherfucker. I think it got sprained."

"Fine." Regina tries to regain her poise. "I'll pull you out with magic."

A few walkers shred the rabbit and soon enough there's only a splotch of blood where it used to be. They start to disband again. One of them notices Regina.

"No!" Emma is quick to object. "You can't. We're going to need your magic. Don't waste it on me. Just try to find some rope or something."

"There isn't anything of the sort here. And magic doesn't goes to waste, it doesn't work like that. Let me get you out of there."

"It does now!" Emma replies impatiently and not too far away comes the creature that has first noticed Regina. Followed by others. "Let's just do it the old fashioned way then. Give me your hand."

Regina kneels on the border of the hole and extends her hand. Ungracefully, Emma tries to get up without putting any extra weight on her sprained ankle.

Although the queen is stronger than Emma had anticipated, she isn't strong enough to pull her out on her own.

"I can't. You're too heavy. Let me use my powers."

"Regina, no! There's gotta be some other way."

"There is. If you don't want me to use my magic, then use your own."

"I don't have any." Emma insists stubbornly, reminding Regina of Snow when she was fourteen and refusing to take riding lessons out of her fear of horses.

"What are you talking about? Emma, you're made of true love, the most powerful force. You have plenty of magic." Regina looks up and sees they have been spotted. Perfect. "Now you better find a way to access it, because we've been made."

"I'm telling you, I can't! Go ahead then, run to the vault and get the beans! You are our only way out! I won't risk it over me!"

"What about you?"

"I'll find a way to save myself. I always do. Now go!"

Regina hesitates then, prepared to follow Emma's instructions, but thinks again. Both of them can hear the grunts as the creatures slowly but surely pace on their way to their next meal.

"No! Give me your hand!" Emma doesn't look sure but given the lack of options does as she is told. So Regina pulls her again, with all her strength, only this time something else comes to surface.

Whatever it is, it makes Emma's body tingle all over. She wants to protest but soon enough she's out of the hole on top of Regina. Her eyes are wide in surprise and the proximity between the two of them is strange and unexpected.

"You weren't supposed to use your magic." Emma says, though her voice lacks any hints of censure.

"I didn't." Regina replies looking straight into her green eyes and never speaking the words that come to her mind: I used yours.

.::.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

Regina practically hauls Emma to her vault as a bunch of walkers drag themselves after them and once they get in, she locks the door behind them looking beyond relieved.

Emma doesn't feel like spoiling the moment, but they still have to see if the beans are there and then find a way to get the hell out. Only without the help of dummy live rabbits.

Still, because she's also relieved and thankful for not having been dumped on her ass by Regina when things got real, she opts to keep quiet for now. At least on this subject.

"That was close." The blonde sighs wiping the sweat - and some dirt - of her brow.

"Too much for my taste." Regina agrees looking still affright, the adrenalin pumping through her veins, what Emma can definitely relate.

"Any chance we may put our hands on those beans now? We sure have waited long enough." Emma hints not so subtly, while trying to massage her sore ankle.

"Right." Regina comes to her senses and approaches a wall. Emma looks at her intrigued by what comes next. Sure enough, Regina uses her magic to open a door to the vault. A door that hasn't been there a minute ago. There's a set of stairs that goes downwards; Regina looks at Emma with what may be concern. "Do you need…"

"It's okay." Emma assures her way too fast, and then cleans her throat. "I can manage."

Without a discussion Regina heads inside, and sighing deeply Emma goes after her, limping heavily.

The place is dark and it smells like mold. Emma doesn't know what else she was expecting after all the place has been locked for a very long time.

Then, suddenly, the lights are on and bright.

Emma turns to her side expecting to see Regina using some sort of candlestick or torch but is rewarded with plain old electricity. So much for a show.

Regina doesn't mind her, immediately reaching for a cabinet filled with small drawers. Inside of one of them there's an old rusty key. The former evil queen takes it and across the room reaches for a trunk that looks heavy and antique. Like something that would belong to Gold's pawnshop. She opens it eagerly, but whatever she finds inside makes her freeze.

"What is it?" Emma asks afraid of the answer. Regina looks at her with disappointment written all over her face.

"They are dead." She points at a bunch of dry leaves and frail branches.

"Well, biology was never my favorite subject, but wasn't this expected?"

Regina doesn't look at her, still caressing the dead leaves with the tip of her fingers. "Magic was supposed to keep it alive longer. I suppose five years was just too long."

"Well," Emma tries her best not to show her disappointment as well. "It was worth a shot."

"There are still some seeds. Three to be exact. They seem dry as well, but maybe only on the surface. And with the use of magic…"

"Regina-"

"No! It can work. I know it can. I just need to figure out…"

"It's ok if you can't." Regina looks at her like she has grown another head, but Emma insists. "It is. We are not going to return you to that cave if you don't. I won't let them."

Regina averts her eyes when she says it, her voice sounding rather small. "It's not like you were able to stop them the first time around."

"I know." Emma admits somberly. She had tried, but failed. And as a result Regina spent five years of her life like a caged animal. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well…" Regina shrugs and her glazed eyes look at what's left of the sprouts once again. "Regardless, I can do this. If I use the right ingredients, I can do it. It will only take longer."

"Then we wait." Emma assures her.

Besides, it's not like they have any other choices anyway.

.::.

It is Emma who advises that they stay the night. The expedition is dangerous enough when they have clear visibility; at night the risks are far too high.

Regina doesn't fight it, way more exhausted than she cares to admit; So she claims the ottoman for herself and watches as Emma tries to find a comfortable position on the dusty tapestry.

Despite their weariness, sleep doesn't come easily to either of them, which leads to a heart to heart that neither would have predicted.

All, of course, starts with Emma's inability to stay quiet, something to which Regina is almost grateful. Only, to be fair, it was not her, but her stomach growling what spoke first, spooking Regina.

"What was that?" She sits straight up, alert. Trying to calm her down, Emma is forced to admit.

"Don't worry. It was just my stomach."

"For heaven's sake, control your intern organs, will you?"

"Sorry… I'm just soooo hungry." She whines in such an infantile manner that Regina immediately pictures Henry at the age of five. "I think it was the rabbit. And the sight of what's left of Granny's… Jesus, I can't even remember the last time I had a burger. Or meat for that matter."

"What about those horses?" Regina remarks casually.

Emma actually snorts then, a sound that Regina almost attributes to her stomach as well. "Not that! Don't even remind me of it! Evan cried nonstop for days because of it and has refused to eat meat ever since. Which is not a problem since we haven't had access to any lately, but still…"

"Hmm… Henry actually went through a similar phase, albeit not exactly for the same reasons." The memory hits Regina at once and she tries to mask its impact with the sound of her own voice. "But it only lasted until well, bacon came up."

Emma smiles at that, her arm folded underneath her head as an improvised pillow. "I don't think Evan even knows what bacon is…. Damn… And I thought I had it rough while growing up!" She sighs longingly. "The kid deserves better than that… They all do."

"So you know about the wolf's pregnancy then." Regina states carefully and slightly surprised. Clearly Hook and Ruby were trying to be discreet about it, but almost nothing passes unnoticed by Regina.

"Yeah well, she's best friends with Mary Margaret, who we both know can't keep a secret to save her life." Emma assesses with a fair share of honesty. "Of course I know."

"The wolf and the pirate." Regina mutters out loud. "Such an unlikely pair."

"Well, the world **is** ending…"

"I suppose. But as far as I remember, didn't he use to be fond of you?"

"So what?"

"Nothing. I guess I've just assumed you would end up with either the pirate of the scoundrel."

"Well, I haven't…" Emma says simply and Regina can't quite read whatever is linked to her tone. "Now the pirate is happily tied to Ruby and Neal… he's dead. Like dead-dead."

It takes a moment of silence before she goes on. "Hook made sure of it."

That small piece of information is enough to help Regina place several pieces of the puzzle. "I can't imagine Rumplestiltskin would have accepted it well."

"He hasn't. That's why we were all left behind once he found himself a portal."

"And Belle?"

"Got herself killed trying to keep him away from the dark side." Emma explains, bitterly. "In the end he ran away alone."

"Some things never change."

"I would certainly drink to that." Emma agrees yawning when sleep finally claims her.

.::.

As it turns out, Emma has a plan to get them out. It's a disturbing, disgusting, simplistic plan that can only work by a miracle. Or so Regina says.

But of course it works.

At the cost of much of the queen's dignity, it's true. What Emma would probably have enjoyed way more hadn't she been covered in zombie's goo as well.

She has the idea in the middle of the night and tries to wake Regina up to tell her (note to self: never try to awake Regina no matter what). It is quite simple actually: If zombies are attracted by smell, and won't eat each other, then they only have to think that Regina and Emma are part of the horde.

The trickiest part of course is convincing Regina to allow Emma to cover her body with putrid bloody parts.

Other than that, they are good to go.

And so they march, side by side, Regina carrying the dead sprouts in a small container, while Emma walks besides her, hobbling in a constant pace.

It takes longer than usually would, but they eventually find their way back to the beach. Only the Merry Jerry isn't there or nowhere to be found.

Emma is on the verge of losing it when they see the Jolly Roger much closer to the shore than it's supposed to be.

"Something is wrong." Emma mutters to herself, but loud enough that Regina hears her. Without mustering for words, Regina can't help but to agree.

.::.

With no other options, Emma is forced to recur to one of their emergency plans. By using some branches and a lot of practice she quickly makes a small fire. It's a sign for the crew in the ship and thank God it works because fifteen minutes later Henry shows up with the cockleboat, and nursing a severe black eye.

"What the hell?" "What happened to you?" Emma and Regina say simultaneously, their voices in choir.

"I could ask the same thing." He says while helping them get into the boat. The two women look one another like they are seeing each other for the very first time and Emma is the first to budge, they look like hell yes, but still…

"Well, we were on a deadly mission. What's your excuse?" She gasps and Regina doesn't say more, too busy staring at their son with visible concern.

"It's not safe here. I'll explain everything once we get to the Jolly."

"Oh, you better." Emma huffs and sits next to Regina on their way back home, her sore ankle long forgotten.

.::.

Only when they get there it becomes clear just how big the damage is and what really happened while Regina and Emma have been away.

The ship has been under attack.

Emma can tell from the moment they are brought up, the evidences loud and clear for someone who used to be a sheriff.

Grumpy and Snow have to pull the ropes that lift the boat and as soon as her mother sees her there's blatant concern in her eyes.

"Oh my God Emma, are you okay?" Snow comes near but doesn't dare to touch her just yet.

"I'm pretty sure I should be the one asking that. What happened?"

"While you were having your little adventure, we were being attacked, that's what happened!" Leroy offers with little clarification.

"It was a small group, four men only, but they were armed. They found Merry Jerry and used it to get to us, probably intending to take over the Jolly Roger." Snow explains.

"I don't understand." Regina can't help but enquire. "You're saying that you were attacked not by dead people, but by living ones?"

"That's exactly what she is saying." Leroy confirms impatiently, much to Regina's shock.

"Where's everybody? Any casualties?" Emma asks immediately concerned.

"Only from the other side." Henry answers seemingly proud, but Snow adds with a somber expression.

"Hook and Victor are both severely injured."

"What about Evan?" Emma asks frightened.

"He's okay. They acted in the middle of the night. But Pongo gave the alert sign. Ruby and Evan stayed downstairs the whole time. They are fine."

Emma seems relieved to know her baby brother is safe, but still tense about the other two men. Whale has never been a friend – or someone she trusts – but has come to their assistance with his medical knowledge many times. And Hook is a different story, for all his annoying habits and bad puns, his absence would certainly be felt if anything were to happen to him, especially by Ruby and the baby that is on its way.

"Well, what can we do?" The question comes from Regina surprising just about everyone – even Emma.

"Erm, a lot actually. How much do you know about herbs and healing potions?" Snow asks gingerly, more concerned with the well-being of the injured than some old rivalry.

"I'll admit it's not my strongest suit, but what little I know may come in hand. Take me to them."

Just like that both women go on their way, leaving quite the confused group behind staring as they disappear of sight.

"I'll be damned." Grumpy takes off his hat and scratches his head.

"Well, what else do you need? What can I do?" Emma asks trying not to think about how strange it is seeing her mother and Regina finally joining forces after so long.

"You can do us all a favor and take a shower." Henry makes a face at her, but a crooked grin comes to surface blowing his act.

"Shut up kid. Or I'll give you another black eye." Emma does her best trying to sound stern, but it falls flat. Her head filled with other thoughts.

.::.

Truth be told, Regina manages to help a lot, but her abilities can only go so far.

She patches up Hook, who got himself a nasty gash on the head and a few broken ribs, while Snow and Emma try to calm Ruby down. Then, she and Snow try to do the same with Whale, but a couple days later he gets an infection and they end up having to amputate one of his legs.

Still, at the end of the week, everyone is alive and recovering, Henry manages to hit a seagull with his bow – which means having something other than fish for dinner, and Regina is already working on reliving those sprouts - which count as a win by Emma's book.

Being that so, Emma continues keeping tabs on Regina, and finds herself enjoying her company far more than she ever thought she would.

"So you and my mom, huh? Working together to save Doctor Frankenstein. Who would have thought?"

"Don't make me regret it, Miss Swan." Regina warns her, her concentration mainly on the scripts she's brought with her from their journey to Storybrooke, so there's no hint of malice in her tone or nuisance. "How is Killian?"

"Pretty dozed out after taking those mixed herbs you gave him. Those were pretty heavy stuff, huh?"

"Nothing he can't handle."

"Sure… Now all we have to do is survive his remarks about how this crew is finally complete with a pirate, a dwarf and a wooden-leg man." She sits on the armchair, making herself comfortable while watching Regina work. "I think he may be confusing the crew of a pirate ship with one of a circus."

If Regina smiles it's only after being sure Emma can't see it.

.::.

The recent attack puts Regina's escape plan under more pressure and she starts working relentlessly on it. Much to her surprise, Evan seems to take a special interest in her and her magical abilities.

At first he only watches her from afar. Like she is some kind of exotic animal and he is trying to figure her out without spooking her while mesmerized by the things she can do.

About a week later he talks to her for the first time. It's one of the few mornings where Emma is able to persuade her to join everyone at the table for breakfast and much like on the other days this happen, breakfast goes by as a quiet affair.

That is, until Evan's husky voice breaks the silence.

"Is it true that you can turn Leroy into a monkey?" The boy inquires with genuine interest and Emma has to gulp her tea in order not to choke. Around the table a series of coughs and throats being cleared follow her reaction, making it less perceptible, but just barely.

It actually takes a few seconds before Regina realizes not only what's being asked but that the question was directed to her. What gives it away is how Evan's inquisitive eyes remain on her figure once she looks up from her plate. "Excuse me?"

"I heard Henry telling Leroy to stop being a meanie to you or you would turn him into a monkey and Emma would let you." Emma immediately shots daggers through her glare into Henry's direction, who pretends to be extremely interested in one of his books, while the boy insists on an answer. "Can you really do that?"

"Evan, that's not a very polite question." Snow tells him suppressing a nervous smile, but Regina interrupts her, unmoved by being on the other end of Grumpy's stingy eye.

"That's ok, Snow. I can answer that." Regina replies with a tight smile and Emma's only solace is that this morning Ruby had been in pretty bad shape due to some remaining morning sickness, reason why Hook isn't among them, otherwise this would be worse than it is. "I suppose I could do that. I certainly have the ability. But it would be very costly and, quite honestly, I don't think the dwarf's remarks, however boisterous, are worth the effort."

"What Regina is trying to say, Evan" Emma tries to take charge of the situation before it goes too far. "is that although she has the powers, it wouldn't be right to do that. Right Regina?"

"Sure dear. If you say so."

Before returning to her quarters, once the group has dispersed to start their daily routine, Regina finds Evan sitting by the stairs, playing with a wooden horse. He looks up at her and she can't help but say. "Just between you and me, if I were to turn the dwarf into an animal I'd prefer a pig. Now that would require no effort at all."

Then, with a smirk and a wink to let the boy know she's toying with him, Regina enters her quarters.

.::.

After that, Evan starts paying daily visits to her. Sometimes he asks questions, most times he just seems happy enough to observe whatever she's doing.

Snow is the first one to notice it, and doesn't mind sharing her views with the very woman.

She finds Regina working behind a large table filled with different gadgets, books and parchments.

"I noticed you haven't been down for dinner last night. Or breakfast this morning." Snow remarks cautiously. "So I brought you some soup."

"Thank you." Regina replies warily, never quite trusting when it comes to Snow White. Then she adds, as to dismiss her officially. "You can leave it on the table."

Snow does as she is told, but only to some extension. Then, instead of leaving, she actually approaches Regina's studies. "Has Evan already visited you today?"

There it is - Regina thinks to herself knowingly - the reason why Snow is circling her. The former queen, however, has no energy or interest in engaging with the younger woman in a spar of any kind.

"If you wish for him not to be in my presence-" Snow interrupts her, shaking her head.

"Does his being around bother you?"

Regina wants to say that it does. That the little boy who is quite a perfect replica of his father, with his blonde hair, vivid blue eyes and easy smile, is just as annoying as well.

But that wouldn't be entirely true.

Thing is, the boy reminds her far too much of Henry as little. He is clever and sweet, lively and inquisitive. At the same time, he seems to have some personal traits that are a far cry from his upbringing. He doesn't mind staying silent and isn't as annoying as his older sister, for instance. Or his mother.

Regina, however, would never admit that to anyone, declaring at the very most that the child's presence is only somewhat tolerable, so instead she says. "Not completely."

Despite having her answer, Snow reveals no intention of leaving just yet, much to Regina's dismay.

"It's funny I think, just how smitten with you he appears to be. In fact, I'd say that the children in my family seem to have some sort of weak spot when it comes to you." Snow comments simply and Regina doesn't get where she's going with all this.

"Aren't you afraid of what I could do to your son?" Regina doesn't try do deliberately threat Snow, but her tone is grave and the words colder than she intended them to be. "If I were you, no son of mine would be let out of my sight, let alone be allowed to follow around my oldest enemy."

Snow hears her with an impassive expression, sighing tiredly once Regina stops speaking. "Must we still live under these labels? You're no more an Evil Queen than I am a princess, Regina. This isn't that reality anymore…"

While Regina absorbs her words suspiciously, Snow goes on.

"To be completely honest, I can't say I'm Evan's mother much more than Emma could say that about Henry when she first showed up in his life."

That it's a quite a big confession, but Regina isn't that surprise for hearing it. Snow has always liked to talk about her feelings, an irritating habit to which Regina never manages to escape apparently.

"From what I recall, that has never stopped her." Regina retorts, steadfast, dark eyes searing Snow. "Or you, for the matter."

"Yes, well, I believe much of our views have changed over the last years." Snow shrugs, a longing look in her gray eyes. "You see, when I became pregnant with Evan, I thought of it as a second chance. That I'd be able to raise him and love him the way I never got a chance with Emma." Snow's tone is distant, detached. "But then, David was infected. And everything changed. So my guess is… some things aren't really meant to be."

Regina thinks of Henry then. The boy she adopted and chose to be her son, and that despite expecting her to save the world still couldn't bother to forgive her for her misdeeds, still could barely tolerate her presence.

On that much she could agree with Snow. Motherhood wasn't always meant to be. And in the end, it seemed to be something they both shared after all.

.::.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **So, crappy TV plots will be crappy TV plots. Long live fanfics and Swan Queen!

* * *

**6.**

With the stress provoked by the attack, plus Hook being hurt, Ruby starts having a hard time with her pregnancy. And while Whale still recovers, added to the fact that Hook kind of can't stand the guy, the soon-to-be father ends up asking for Regina's help, even if it means putting their differences aside.

For the sake of the child Regina agrees to help with what little knowledge she has on the subject – as it turns out, they are out of options anyway and Regina's acquaintance with herbs and magical ingredients reveals to be more than helpful.

As it is, Emma finds herself with no other option but having to take Henry with her on their quests for food, an opportunity the teen boy takes eagerly.

Emma actually enjoys the quality time with the boy who still seem to be growing up at a very quick pace, even if the chances of they actually finding meat decrease considerably.

One thing that particularly intrigues her is the fact that despite being the one responsible for actually releasing Regina and bringing her to the group, Henry has kept his distance from his adoptive mother, from what Emma can tell not quite trusting her intentions.

She never mentions a thing, having learned that when it comes to Henry, the best way is waiting for him to come to you. And surely that's what eventually happens on one of their quests.

"Are you sure it is such a good idea to let Evan spend all this time with her?" He brings up the subject with pretended nonchalance, and the delivery would be perfectly smooth had Emma not been expecting it.

"Why? Because she's done such a terrible work with you?" Emma replies sarcastically, her answer breaking his poise.

"I'm just saying… What makes you think we can really trust her?" He stops working on his booby trap and looks at her expectantly.

"Well, we trust Regina enough to expect her to find a way out of this hell mouth, don't we?" Emma says after giving it some thought and continues her work. "In fact, I believe it was your idea to do it so."

"Yeah… But only because we didn't have a choice. It doesn't mean I forgot who she **really** is."

Emma sighs then, deeply, a myriad of memories coming back to her at once. The accusations, the offenses, the speeches that were far too black and white for her taste. Sure he had been a child then, and mostly right about many things, but she was expecting to have taught him better over the years that have past, some things at least.

"Kid, do us both a favor and throw the Evil Queen card away, ok? We all have seen and done enough by now to know that things are not that simple."

Henry doesn't really have a reply for that. But he certainly gets something to think of.

.::.

Back at the ship, Regina is enjoying the warm daylight while getting up to date with her studies, when Emma and Henry return from their expedition.

Emma seems happy enough at having captured a bird of some sort, but the boy arrives with a surly expression and immediately gets to his chores – what involves cleaning the leaves that Snow will later use on her tea, the berries that will be consumed on the next morning and the fish they're going to have for dinner once again.

Even so, Regina can't help but notice her son's eyes over her, even if when she looks up he pretends to be looking at something else. Although intrigued, Regina decides not to act on her curiosity. Instead she focuses her apparent attention on the parchment she has in hands or Evan, whenever the boy approaches her with a question or a comment about something.

Emma notices Henry's behavior too, but has decided not to get in the way of his relationship with his mother. So what she does is gloat to everyone within a hearing range about her hunting abilities and her spoils. Unfortunately, eating it it's not part of the deal.

She's crossing the main deck on her way to the basement, when Hook crosses her path way too quickly to be casual.

"Nice catch you have there, Swan." He offers with a sly grin. Emma blinks at him, aware. "Red will be delighted to see how well she has taught you."

"Yeah, well. I already had some game. She just gave me a few tips."

Hook looks at the bird then, his eyes still on it, when he says. "Too bad we won't be having it."

Emma is sure to smile when she talks back. "Yeah, well you know the drill."

"I do. That being so, can you tell me just how long are we supposed to feed you 'father', instead of, you know, everyone else?" Hook says it in a low tone, as not to be heard by others. Emma can feel her cheeks getting hot with her anger.

"As long as he is living in our basement, ok?"

What she isn't expecting though, is for Evan to be hearing the conversation from the spot where he's hidden playing one of his games. And what he hears immediately arouses his curiosity.

.::.

"My mom told me you know her for a long long time." Evan says while tugging his stuffed bunny. Regina almost pities the toy. It has certainly been through some tough times.

"I have." She replies, trying not to lose her concentration completely. She really needs this one potion to work.

"Just how long?" Evan is sitting in the armchair that might as well have his name on it. Regina looks at him and his long blonde locks. She's gotten used to it, but were the boy her child he would've gotten a haircut as in yesterday.

"Many, many years." The answer seems to satisfy his curiosity, but only momentarily. He's particularly chatty today. "Did you know my father too?"

The question gives Regina pause and as she look up from the book on her table, she finds herself being attentively observed by a pair of sharp green eyes.

"Is that what you really want to know?" Regina asks seriously. The boy bites his lip thinking hard before giving her a straight answer.

"It's one of them." He says sincerely, what Regina can really appreciate. In response, she closes her book and takes off the glasses she has conjured recently as one of her new (and most useful) possessions.

"I did, know him that is." She offers him vaguely, conflicted about her own feelings towards the Charmings in general and a sudden wish to not disappoint the boy or hurt him in any way.

"Mother says I look just like him."

"I actually think you look a lot more like your sister." Regina addresses casually, what makes the boy smile. If there's one thing Evan worships in this world is Emma Swan.

"I'm going to be just like her when I grow up." He says proudly and Regina is just glad Emma is not around to hear it. Otherwise, she would never hear the end of it.

"I can't imagine anything different." She speaks sincerely.

"I wanted to meet him, but he died when I was very little. Emma says I did meet him, that I just can't remember. Do you know how my father died?"

"I do." Regina pauses searching for the right way to present the fact to a 5-year-old. "He died being a hero."

The boy seems to agree to that and then Emma knocks on the door, much to Regina's relief.

"Evan, what have I told you about bugging Regina?" He smiles sheepishly at Emma, aware that he's been caught. "C'mon bud, give her a break will you?"

The boy rolls his eyes – something he's clearly learned from the former mayor – but does as he is told. Then, instead of leaving, Emma takes his place sitting on the armchair and observing Regina work for several minutes until the queen gets tired of pretending she's not there.

"What? Are you taking turns now?" Regina pretends to be annoyed by Emma's presence, but doesn't put her heart in it.

"I just thought you should know: I had a talk with Henry yesterday."

"Ah." Regina exclaims, not needing to be clarified beyond that.

"You don't seem surprised." Emma points out unnecessarily.

"Why should I? He came after me, yes, but he also made it very clear that the only reason why he did it was to accomplish this mission."

"The mission you've been killing yourself to complete." Emma adds, also unnecessarily.

Regina shrugs, non-commitantly, resuming her activities. But Emma is not ready to let the subject go just yet.

"Do you regret the things you've done?"

"No." Regina says without much thought. The truth is she has had 5 years to think about it. So the answer now, just comes simply. "How could I, when everything led me to Henry?"

Her answer seems to make sense to Emma, but doesn't stop her from pushing further. "Does that mean I should still worry about you attempting to kill my mother?"

This time, Regina does pause before replying.

"No dear. Even I can see Snow is already paying for her actions." Regina stops, contemplative for a moment. "Turns out life had a much crueler plan to her than I ever did."

.::.

It's almost lunch time when Henry comes to Regina's quarters looking for Evan, only to find both of his mothers sharing the room in companionable silence. The scene surprises him more than anything else ever could, but Evan's disappearance forces him to let it go for now.

"Erh, hey." His voice comes out rather hoarse and he cleans his throat before adding. "Have you guys seen Evan? He was with me until about 20 minutes ago, but now I just can't find him anywhere."

"Well you know how he loves to play hide and seek." Emma offers lamely.

"Yeah, but I also know how bad he is at it. I've already looked for him in all the regular spots. Still all I got was nothing." Henry says sounding annoyed like a big brother would. Regina almost smiles, but something else, something in her gut, doesn't feel right.

She has a bad bad feeling all of a sudden.

"Emma, how well do you keep locked the room where Charming stays?"

"The basement doesn't have a lock, but his cell-" Emma is in mid-sentence when Regina disappears in a familiar cloud of purple smoke straight to the ship's belly just in time to prevent one more tragedy to occur.

.::.

It's a miracle really.

Once she gets to the basement, Evan is laying on the floor holding tightly to a piece of rope that is bound to budge while Charming – or the creature that has taken his place – tries to pull him by his feet.

The child is crying, terrified, but the basement is far too cloistered for anyone to hear his cries for help.

Moving one hand, Regina throws a jolt of energy at Charming, forcing him to lose his grip as he gets thrown across his cell. Then she takes the boy in her arms, holding him as tightly as she can.

Charming gets up again and comes back to the grids, snarling as it stretches its arms trying to grasp them. Regina looks at him with nothing but disgust and finds that even though his features remain mostly the same, the creature holds no resemblance to the man it used to be.

Emma, Henry and Hook arrive right away, followed by Ruby and Grumpy.

Evan's wail is loud enough to fill the room. "It's okay, you're safe." Regina whispers against his hair, not sure if the words are meant to him or herself.

Emma tries to hold him, but the boy's grip on Regina only tightens. With Emma's help, Regina stands, still holding the boy and walks out of the room, but on her way, she manages to take one good look at Snow as if she could find some answers there.

She finds nothing.

.::.

Once the situation is averted, Regina comforts Evan in his room accompanied by Henry, but the whole thing raises a heated debate between the rest of the crew – especially those who consider Charming's presence a risk to everyone.

"If this wasn't a wakeup call, I don't know what else could be." Hook states angrily walking back and forth, while Ruby tries to console her best friend.

"The boy was never supposed to go downstairs." Grumpy adds, clearly concerned in Snow's behalf.

"I don't know why such a fuss. We just need to make sure to get a better security system downstairs." Whale says not nearly as affected by the whole situation as everyone else.

"A security system?" Hook doesn't hide his aggravation. "This isn't something that a lock of some sort can solve. A boy's life was at stake."

"But nothing really happened." Whale argues back.

"Just because the queen got there in time! Hadn't it been for her still having her powers, you know exactly what would have happened."

"Charming would never hurt Evan." Snow says in the midst of tears.

"Maybe so, but that thing downstairs was ready to eat him up." Hook claims fiercely, and does it in spite of the looks Red is giving him to tone it down. "And if you think that that creature would hold back on anyone on this ship, princess, let me tell you, you're out of your mind."

"Hook, you're out of line!" Emma shouts from across the room, even though she doesn't really disagree with all the things he's saying. Her intervention only manages to increase his frustration though.

"You know what? I'm tired of this! How much longer will you keep coddling her? It's been almost five years and if she thinks that there's any chance that thing is going with us through that portal…"

Having gone completely rabid, Hook can't stand staying in the same room than Snow and goes upstairs in order to get some fresh air. Ruby gives Snow a kiss on the head and with an apologetic smile, goes after him, probably to help him calm down.

Emma looks at Snow then, not sure of what to do. Is it possible that she can't see what could have happened? How close they came to lose Evan?

She may disagree with Hook on many things, but he's damn right. There's no way in hell she will let David's zombie go with them.

Even if it means losing her mother's love.

.::.

Later on, Regina is visited by Emma once again.

Only this time around there is no energy left for jokes and banter. Not that this stops Emma from trying anyway;

"Careful Madam Mayor… Saving little kids, helping pregnant werewolves, opening portals so people can literally escape hell… At this rate one might think you're turning into some kind of hero."

Emma comes in and doesn't sit, heading straight to Regina's desk, feigning interest in the objects she has there.

"Don't be ridiculous." Regina dismisses her remark by rolling her eyes, then taking a much more serious tone. "How is he?"

"Pretty shaken up." Emma admits, still unable to shake Evan's cries off of her mind. "I mean, Henry had a hard time when he found out you were the Evil Queen, but at least you never tried to eat him!"

"Just to make him think he was crazy." She offers sadly, and Emma doesn't joke about that.

"He will be fine." Regina assures her, sympathetically. "You Swans are nothing if resilient."

"Yeah. I guess we are pretty tough, huh?" Emma's smile is cocky. An attempt to shake the burden she's been carrying. "You're not too bad either, you know? I mean I've heard my share of stories about The Evil Queen, but my bet is that she has nothing on your Mama Bear persona."

"You're talking non-sense, dear." Regina tells Emma but doesn't hide her delight this time, a small smirk forming on her red red lips.

"Am I now?" Emma's question is barely a whisper, her proximity to the other woman suddenly all too obvious to both of them ignore and even as she's speaking, Emma can see the wheels spinning inside Regina's head as well. "How about no more talking, huh?"

Regina appraises her then for what seems to be a long long time. Probably thinking this is a stupid, crazy or terrible idea, most likely all the above. But then her eyes are on Emma's lips and the blonde can tell she's not breathing. Just… waiting.

And for one, Regina and the Savior agree on the same thing.

.::.


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Regina's taste still lingers in her mouth and in the dark Emma finds peace in the silence that precedes words.

Then, almost too soon, as they lay side by side on her rather narrow bunk, Regina is the one to break it. Her voice, low and husky, not completely unwelcomed.

"How much have you drunk before deciding that paying me a visit would be a good idea, Emma?"

"I have not-" She tries to lie, but even in the dark she can feel Regina's eyes on her. "A little. But barely anything really; Hook really knows how to keep his stash to himself." Emma scratches her chin, enjoying the warmth of Regina's naked body so close. "I was sober enough to know what I was getting myself into, if that's what you're asking."

But Regina isn't asking.

In fact, if there's anything going through the former queen's head, Emma's input has not been required. What makes her ask in a single beat. "Anyway, what's your excuse?"

Regina finds no use in hiding the truth.

"It's been a long time."

"Oh. Right. The prison thing." Emma clears her throat, suddenly finding the need to ask. "Did you— I mean, have you-"

Regina can only barely decode her stutter until her impatience speaks louder. "Is this your way of fishing for compliments, dear?"

"Shut up." Emma huffs slightly annoyed. "I may have been a little rusty, but I still know how to get things going."

"To be honest, you're a lot more talented than I expected." Regina says but her tone has no inflection whatsoever, leaving Emma completely in the dark.

"Is this supposed to be a compliment?" Emma asks not sure if she should be offended or flattered.

"Well, yes." Regina replies matter-of-factly, her voice suddenly reaching some very low registers. "Now since silence seems to be such an impossible task for you to accomplish, perhaps you could put this mouth of yours to another use. What do you say?"

Emma doesn't find the need to use words. She's always been a hands-on kind of girl anyway.

.::.

On the next morning, Regina wakes up in an empty bunk, whereas her pillow still smells of Emma.

Over breakfast they exchange only the most necessary curtsies, what can barely be noticed given the atmosphere surrounding everyone. And while Regina acts as cool and composed as ever, Emma fumbles with the tablecloth and spills tea on her shirt.

The one look she gets from Regina, sharp and direct, says loud and clear: get it together.

So Emma breathes in and tries her best to do just that.

"How is the boy?" Regina asks to no one in particular. Much to her surprise it's Henry who offers her a reply.

"Still refusing to leave his bed." He plays with the food on his plate, showing no intention of eating it anytime soon.

"Has he talked to anyone yet?" Emma inquires concerned.

"Not a word." Henry sighs and pushes his plate away. "I should have kept an eye on him."

"Hey," Regina holds his hand, being the one nearest to Henry. "This wasn't anyone's fault. If nothing it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Henry doesn't retrieve his arm right away, what Emma takes as a good sign, but doesn't seem comforted in the slightest, so Emma offers what little support she can.

"She's right kid."

At the end of the table, Snow's teacup clanks against the saucer. She looks paler then usually. "If you may excuse me, I'm going to take Evan's breakfast. He may not be speaking, but he still needs to eat."

There's no motion to stop Snow, and on her way out, she bumps into Hook. They acknowledge each other's presence but just barely, both following their ways without as much as a good morning.

On their seats, Regina and Emma exchange glances once again, only this time, their concerns focused elsewhere.

.::.

After breakfast, Emma decides to pay a visit to her baby brother. She finds Snow talking to him, trying to persuade the boy to eat, but his plate remains untouched.

Silently, Emma enters the room and with a silent sign, asks permission to give it a go. Too tired to argue, Snow simply hands her the plate and the mug where his tea has gone cold.

"Hey smalls," Emma greets the boy quietly. He moves underneath the covers but refuses to show his face. "I got you something to eat. It's your favorite: smiley toast."

There's still no answer, but Emma persists. "Buddy, you need to eat something. It's no good for anyone if you get sick. Then who is going fishing with me and look at the stars?

Still nothing.

"Listen, I know you are afraid. I'm sorry we've let you down. If I could go back in time and make it all better I promise you I would."

The lack of response makes Emma's heart sinks. She and Evan have always shared a special bond, a little bit like what she has with Henry, and yet just different.

Maybe that's because she got to see him go from baby to boy. Emma has been the one who taught him how to swim, the one who read bedtime stories to him, who made sure to keep him company whenever he had a nightmare. Or maybe it's because she is his big sister and looking after him has been a promise made to her father before his death.

Be as it may, knowing that not only she hasn't been able to protect him but that she can't even bring him back from this bad place he's gotten stuck, makes her really want to scream at someone.

So when Hook comes to her, wanting to talk about the whole Charming situation one more time, she ends up losing her temper big time.

He, on the other hand, has plenty to say as well.

"Listen, Swan, I've been trying to be patient, but this can wait no longer. You must do something."

"Oh my God, give me a break Killian." Emma pleads trying her best not to rip his head off. He doesn't make it easier though.

"I have. For four years. But this situation has become unbearable. And things have changed, with or without Regina's big escape plan, soon enough there will be another child on this ship and I won't risk that."

"I would never ask you to." Emma replies visibly offended.

"But you are. Every day that we let that thing live, you ask me exactly that. Now, your little brother was almost served as dinner last night. What else are you waiting for?" He demands anxiously.

"You listen to me Hook, this is my family and my business. You may be the captain of this ship, but for all I know, I'm the leader of this group. And that has been decided a long time ago. So you let me make the calls, got it?"

"Fine, Swan! Just remember: yours is not the only family you are putting in harm's way. And that rests on you!"

.::.

It worked!

Regina can barely hold still, the adrenalin of finally getting what she has worked for so hard for so many weeks, pumping soundly through her veins.

She is still staring at the seeds when she hears the knock on the door. Presuming it's just Emma, Regina commands her to come in without taking her eyes off of what may be her greatest achievement in a long long time. Perhaps even the greatest of all, if you don't count casting a curse over an entire kingdom.

"Do you want me to come back another time?" Henry asks unsure and his presence alone is enough to bring Regina back to this reality.

"Henry! No, no, there's no need. Please do come in." She smiles and then stops it, afraid of scaring him away even though his hardly a child anymore. "What can I do for you?"

He fixes his posture then and looks at Regina directly, as he has rehearsed what he's about to say many times, what from what she can recall is quite a possibility.

"I wanted to thank you." He speaks mechanically. "For saving Evan."

"Henry, you don't need to thank me." Regina works hard on maintaining her poise as well, but her son's next words break her almost to the core.

"You're good with him." He admits and this time around there's nothing mechanical about it. The way he twists the tips of the sleeves of his shirt, telling a whole lot of how much he feels uncomfortable by the admission.

"You don't have to say that either." Her voice breaks.

"But it's true. You always have been." He sits across the room, on the armchair's arm – much like Emma has done so many times. "I know we never talk about those years before Emma came along, and maybe before I wasn't able to see it, but I am now." He swallows hard and says what's been stuck with him for quite a while. "So you should know that I appreciate what you've done for me back then. I may not always have been happy, but you gave me a good childhood, and a home and that's more than many people have to say."

Then he adds, sadly. "I wish Evan could have that."

"He will." Regina assures Henry, making a promise of her own. "Once we get to the other side he will have all those things and a lot more. I promise you."

"You really think you can get us there?" The boy asks, no signs of his blind optimism and Regina thinks maybe he has lived in this world for far too long.

It's definitely time to change.

And she's going to take them there, whatever the price may be.

.::.

That night, after everyone has gone to bed, Emma still wanders by the ship, restlessly, resisting the impulse to go after Regina only to fail completely and end up exactly there.

Regina doesn't even need to lift her eyes from her book, to know that it's Emma who has entered her room. Even so, she decides to ignore her, leaving the ball in her courtyard.

"You should rest." It's all Emma says. No greetings required.

Regina lifts her head then, glasses on and as tempting as Emma remembers and she can't really picture when exactly this happened, but now she just cannot un-see it.

"I am not the one who looks like a living corpse." Regina says completely ruining the moment.

"First of all: rude. Second of all: That's low, even for you."

"Oh please, I didn't mean it like that." Regina shakes her head, taking her glasses off, to which Emma is grateful because they only make her way too much distractive. "Honestly."

"Don't worry, I know." Emma shrugs, too tired to start even a regular banter, which is basically a mating ritual between the two of them by now.

"But I did mean the part that mentioned how terrible you look. You seem exhausted. It doesn't suit you."

"I spent the day trying to talk some sense into my mom."

"Oh."

"Yep. It's like talking to a wall of bricks."

"Well, I suppose stubbornness runs deep in your family's well."

"I guess it does." Emma agrees.

"For what is worth, your mother has always been like this. Ever since she was a little girl nothing could ever get to her." Regina says not exactly weighing her words.

Emma just stares at her for a couple seconds. "That's right… I forget how the two of you go **way** back."

"Well, that's one way to put it." Emma decides definitely not to think about it ever again.

"It's just so frustrating. She keeps insisting on this whole 'true love' can save it all bunch of crap and c'mon, even Henry grew out of that."

"Don't get me wrong dear, I'm not defending Snow, nor would I ever, but you have to understand… She comes from a different world than yours. A land where true love has real power."

"But you know better than that." Emma points out.

"Yes, but only because that's a lesson my mother has made sure to teach me very early on." Regina admits somberly. "A lesson that, despite all my efforts, your mother never had to learn."

"Well, she will now. This afternoon Hook made very clear that he will make sure we don't take David with us."

"And since when is Killian the one in charge?" Regina raises a perfect lined eyebrow, to which Emma responds with a shrug.

"He isn't. But that doesn't make him less right. If we get to escape to another realm…"

"It's not an 'if', dear. It's a 'when'." Regina corrects her.

"Yes well, **when, **then we can't risk our only way out by bringing someone who is infected. It only takes one, you know? But my mom refuses to get it. She keeps asking how I am capable of doing this, of turning my back on my own father."

Emma looks ashamed to even repeat such words, as if by saying them out loud she would be admitting the very crime from what she's being accused. Regina, however, is having none of it.

"Don't worry dear, I'm the last person that could ever hold you guilty by the sacrifice of a father. Especially when I have done it for a much less honorable reason." She takes Emma's hand on her own. "And for what is worth, Snow may not be able to see it, blinded by her personal feelings, but that thing you have locked downstairs, the thing that almost got your little brother killed, his own son— **That** thing is no longer your father."

.::.


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

Days pass by and Evan still refuses to leave his room. It drives Emma crazy, after all he's just a little boy, and don't they need sun, fresh air and stuff like that?

"I'm pretty sure you just described a plant." Henry points out and Emma really isn't herself otherwise he would probably have gotten a smartass comeback.

As it is, they are having one more meal, all together, and the former sheriff can't help but feel taunted by the boy's empty seat. From across the table, Regina sips her tea and looks concern, although refraining to express herself with words.

The same can't be said about the werewolf sitting by her side, whose pregnancy hormones have turn into a touchy-feely sensitive mess.

"I just feel so bad for him." She sniffs while nipping her toast.

"Don't worry luv, he's a tough kid. Soon enough he'll have recovered and will be following the queen around as if it were yesterday." Hook pats Ruby on the leg and takes a sip of his steaming mug. "He just needs some time. After all is not every day a child get to face a real monster."

From her seat, Snow pretends not to be part of the conversation, hiding behind her plate of wild berries, what only serves to unnerve Emma even more and maybe Regina can feel it, because that's the exact moment her voice rises.

"I was actually thinking of paying the boy a visit, after breakfast."

"I'm sure that's what he needs. First zombies, now evil witches. Should we send next the boogie man?" Grumpy sneers, but Regina pretends not to hear him.

"In fact, I'll do that just now, given my sudden loss of appetite." She offers all a polite smile and excuses herself.

As soon as Regina is gone, Emma throws her napkin at Grumpy's head. "That was completely unnecessary."

"What? Now I'm going to be punished for telling the truth?" Grumpy defends himself as he had been the one attacked.

"Leroy, Regina is helping us with so much. It wouldn't hurt for you to try at least to be more civilized." Snow offers gently.

"I'm completely in favor of a civilized society Snow, but let's not allow a handful of good actions make us forget who the woman really is." Whale contributes and Emma actually closes her fist trying to control the surge of anger on her body.

"That woman saved your life." She grumbles in a low, dangerous register.

Henry seems to realize just how close she is to losing it, because sure enough his hand covers hers. "Ma."

The gesture however isn't enough to suppress Emma's anger.

"You know what? I had enough of your talking crap about Regina, okay? I'm sick and tired of hearing you judge her from your high horses when everyone on this table has blood on their hands. Now, I'm not saying she's better than any of us, but as far as I'm concerned, she isn't worse either."

Without waiting for any kind of response, Emma storms out, leaving just about everyone in the room in a haze of surprise and shock.

Ruby, however, smells something different in the air. A mix of pheromones that is far too familiar to pass unnoticed, and yet distinct. She can't tell right away what it is, but she certainly can't pretend it isn't there.

Hook seems to notice her strange expression. "What is it love? Do you feel ill?"

"No." Ruby replies with a distant look. "Not at all."

.::.

The quarter Evan shares with Henry is small and crumpled. There are only the two bunks, an improvised trunk where their clothes are kept and a stack of books that works as a bedside table as well. The place smells like salt and boys and Regina can't say that's a mix of her choice.

She finds the boy sitting on his bed, legs crossed Indian Style, an old and battered comic book open on his lap. When she opens the door he doesn't even bother to look up, probably expecting it to be Emma or Henry.

Regina's presence definitely counts as a surprise.

"Hello there." She greets him with a small smile and his big green eyes go wide. "May I come in?"

The boy immediately puts the comic book away and nods eagerly, although never speaking a word. Regina takes what she can get and comes inside, choosing to sit by his side on the bunk. It's an uncomfortable fit, because of the top bunk, but nothing she can't handle.

"I couldn't help but notice you haven't been paying me visits anymore."

Evan's face contorts with what may be self-consciousness, but he remains silent.

"I was told that you have refused to leave this room." She gives him a side-glance, and sees that he's looking down, toying with the sleeves of his shirt as Regina speaks. "As I'm sure you know Evan, your family is very worried about you. They just want what's best for you. And I'm guessing you know as well as I, that staying in this room isn't that."

He picks up his stuffed bunny and brings it to his chest, hugging it tightly.

"I can tell you must be really scared. But you know what? That's ok. Everyone gets scared. Your mom, Henry, myself... Even Emma does." The mention of Emma's name makes him look at her sharply and she reassures him. "It's true. And you, you faced one of the most terrifying things of all. Now, I'm not talking about the man you saw downstairs. I'm talking about what happens when you are forced to face a person you used to love and who has been turned into something else."

Regina offers the child a sad smile, and he sniffs trying not to cry. It makes her heart ache all of a sudden, because all she sees is Emma.

"So it is ok for you to be scared or sad. But it's also important that you know that neither Emma nor I will ever let anything bad happen to you." She softly caresses his hair. "Can you trust me on that?"

Evan doesn't really say the words. But Regina can see the answer in his eyes all the same.

.::.

Emma and Ruby are sharpening their blades together when Regina comes to the main deck, accompanied by no other than Evan. The boy seems very much alert and holds her hand with an iron grip, but he's there and all Emma can do is stare and smile.

That's also when Ruby senses it. That deep, tender, ineffable odor of pure affection. It's so strong she gets flushed as well, a low chuckle finding its way out her without permission.

The sound makes Emma turn to her, a clueless expression on her face though her smile hasn't faded completely yet.

"What?"

"Girl, you've got it bad." Ruby says with a genuine smile and no hint of malice. But Emma doesn't seem to like it any more because of that.

"What are you talking about?" Emma says seriously, her smile now nowhere to be found, while her irritation gets the best of her.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. You're the one giving yourself away with the puppy eyes." Ruby says as she continues to sharpen her dagger. "If you don't want anyone to call you on it, do a better job at keeping it down."

.::.

Days turn into weeks as Regina works day and night to accomplish her end of the deal. She may have been able to save the seeds, but she'll need healthy ones to open the portal and that means growing new ones out of a very delicate beanstalk.

Obsessed with making this plan succeed, Regina dives into work, having little time to think of Emma and their undefined relationship. What's probably a good thing, since after Ruby's remark, Emma makes sure to stay away from Regina as much as she can, clearly confused about her own feelings.

Only the ship isn't really that big and the companies nearly as interesting, and every now and then Emma finds herself in the queen's company, only making sure to always be accompanied by Evan.

The boy doesn't seem to mind at all, not that he would actually say it. Ever since the incident with Charming, he hasn't spoken a word. But at least he's staying out of his room and playing with Pongo again. And he surely looks very excited every time Emma suggests a visit to Regina.

Henry too, seems more open to the idea of having Regina around, though always being careful to keep his distance. Emma can tell how much it affects the former mayor, but both of them know that the kid's trying and there isn't really much more they can ask of him.

In the meanwhile, Ruby's pregnancy advances, Whale gets used to his cane, Grumpy continues to look at Regina with nothing but suspicion and the atmosphere between Snow and Hook remains mostly toxic.

Then, one night, Regina shows up at Emma's room, waking her up with uncontained excitement.

"Emma, wake up."

"Five more minutes, Evan." Emma mumbles hugging her pillow tighter. Regina huffs and starts poking her.

"C'mon, it's important." She says urgently and can't help but add in a hushed whisper. "I did it!"

Emma opens both eyes, and is rewarded with a magnificent smile. She can't remember ever seeing Regina smile like that. It's breathtaking.

"You did it?" She repeats, mirroring her expression.

"Yes!" Regina confirms and God Emma could kiss her right now. Luckily, Snow sleeps in the same room what totally kills the mood, especially when she chooses this particular moment to make her presence reminded.

"What's going on?" Comes her sleepy voice from the top bunk.

Regina doesn't wait to answer. "We have a magical bean."

"We have to tell everyone! Let's not wait until tomorrow!" Emma gets up and pulls Regina by the hand, already on her way out of the room.

"I'll wake up the boys. You get the others." Snow hears Regina saying before closing the door after her.

Sitting on her bed, she tries to absorb what has just happened.

Snow never doubted Regina would be able to do it. She's known her for far too long to know that whatever she puts her mind to is eventually accomplished. For better or for worse.

But she had been hoping to have more time.

As she hears the rest of the crew awakening, it's with a sad realization that this is it.

It is time to say goodbye.

.::.

Reunited around the kitchen table, everyone looks sleepy, edgy and very much confused about what's going on.

"I don't understand, if Red is not giving birth and we are not under attack, why in hell are you taking me out of bed in the middle of the night?" Grumpy complains bitterly.

"Mom, Ma, what's going on?" Henry asks in the middle of a yawn, while Evan is pretty much asleep, leaning on his right arm.

"This better be good." Hook says scratching his beard with his hook. Ruby looks sleepy but doesn't say a word. Neither does Whale. Snow is the last to join them.

Emma lets Regina deliver the good news.

"We have a bean." Regina says with as much poise as she still has in her. Then she waits for the information to sink in.

"Wait, that was your secret plan? To start a plantation?" Henry asks confused.

"Well, yes. In a way." Regina smiles.

"A magical bean? You had it with you this whole time?" Hook asks with a mix of awe and suspicion.

"She didn't." Emma clarifies, seeing where his mind is heading to. "She had some damaged sprouts. This whole time she was trying to recover them in order to grow a beanstalk."

"And it worked." Ruby smiles in awe as well.

"So now what?" Henry asks grinning, full of enthusiasm.

"I suggest you start packing kid." Emma adds, ruffling his hair. "We leave in two days."

.::.

"Oh my God, if I have to explain to Hook one more time why he can't take the Jolly Roger, I swear to God…" Emma actually growls and Regina turns to her, one book in each hand.

"What do you mean? I have already told him why. Magic here isn't strong enough. We need to go to where it is the strongest and as far as I'm concerned that would be the well." Regina places both books inside her bag. "Killian's not exactly brilliant, but I'm sure even he can understand why taking the Jolly Roger would be unviable."

"You're sure, huh? Cause I'm not." Emma sits at the armchair extending her legs over its arm. "He keeps whining about leaving his lady and how she's important to him. How can Ruby even stand that?"

"Trust me, that is a question that goes unanswered." Regina's retort actually makes Emma smile. "Have you already packed you bags?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Emma offers with fake reverence. Regina doesn't get to reply though, Hook choosing this exact moment to pry open her door.

"Excuse me ladies, just wanted to inform you about the farewell party that we are having tonight. My girl has been good to us and doesn't deserve anything less." He speaks seriously as Emma and Regina exchange meaningful looks.

"Killian, are you sure this is advisable? The last thing we need is to have you nursing a hangover tomorrow during the journey." Regina questions earnestly.

"You forget I'm a pirate, my queen. This is the life that I've always known." He says confidently, even though Regina doesn't find a real answer in his words.

"See you later then, pirate." Emma sends him off, closing the door behind him as soon as he's out. "How do you fancy a party, your Majesty?"

Regina doesn't answer right away, carefully considering what she'll say next. "I suppose there are worse things."

.::.

If there's anything worse than Hook's idea of a party, Emma is afraid to find out.

The sun has barely set and the pirate is already drunk as a skunk.

Henry and Evan, at least, seem to be having fun with Grumpy, while Regina and Ruby exchange some small talk while sipping their drinks – tea for both of them, since Ruby is pregnant and Regina is pretty much anal about being ready and prepared for tomorrow's journey.

"Isn't she a beauty?" Hook shows up suddenly by Emma's side, propping himself over her shoulder and she can't help but blush until she realizes he isn't talking about Regina.

"We've been together for so long." He sniffs and sighs languidly. "I can't believe this is really happening. She's the longest relationship I've ever had.

That's when Emma realizes he isn't talking about Ruby either.

"Are you seriously mourning over some ship when you have Ruby as the future mother of your child?" Emma looks at him like he's batshit crazy.

"Now Swan, don't be like that! Can't you see she's the only reason why Red and I have come together?"

"That and the zombie apocalypse, I guess." Emma mumbles mostly to herself.

"After that crocodile took Milah from me, I never thought I would have love again. Let alone a family. The Jolly was my only family for a long long time. So forgive me if I sound sentimental."

Emma rolls her eyes, but gives him a friendly tap on the arm. Hook takes another sip of his mug before continuing his drunk babbling.

"Beware Swan, love finds you in the most unexpected places."

Deciding she's had enough of Hook's company, Emma soon finds an excuse to bolt him. In fact, she's on the way to the kitchen, to get some more stew, when Snow comes in her way.

"Emma," she greets her daughter with a tearful smile that immediately sends her red signs.

"Mom," the blonde greets back, warily.

"I was hoping we could find a quiet place to talk. Just the two of us."

"Sure." Emma acquiesces. "I was going to the kitchen to get some more stew."

Together they head to the kitchen. Emma takes her bowl to the improvised oven, and fills it with more stew while Snow closes the door behind them and then sits on the long bench, making a sign for Emma to join her.

"Everything ok?" Emma asks frowning in concern. Her appetite long diminished.

Snow smiles at her once again, her eyes glazed with unshed tears as she reaches for Emma's face to caress her cheek. "Oh honey, I'm going to miss you so much."

Emma's frown turns into a full grimace of plain confusion, even though Emma already knows in her gut where this is heading to. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm about to say. In fact, I'd guess you've known it for quite some time now."

"No. I have no idea." Emma denies expressly, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Honey, I won't be going with you tomorrow." Snow lets her know by using a tone that is both serene and incredibly sad.

"No. Mom, what are you saying?" Emma pushes her hand away.

"I can't leave your father, Emma. You know that. You've always known that." Now, Snow sounds even apologetic. But it doesn't make a difference to Emma.

Her heart breaks all the same.

"But… But you can't stay behind. You won't be able to navigate the Jolly by yourself. And what if a group of people tries to attack the ship again? Then, what?" Emma tries to reason, desperation dripping through her voice. "You can't stay here alone."

"I won't be." Snow says tenderly, touched by Emma's concern. "Leroy volunteered to stay with me. And Victor has also expressed his wish to continue his research."

"So this is a coup now?" Emma doesn't hide her aggravation. "And everyone knew but me?"

"It wasn't like that Emma, I swear." Her mother attempts to clarify, but another realization makes Emma's head spin.

"If you think I'm going to leave Evan here…" Snow doesn't let her finish.

"No! I wouldn't! I know that going away is your best chance. I would never deprive you from that." She pauses, then adds. "That's why I sent Henry after Regina in the first place."

Emma starts laughing then, really laugh. The sound is shallow though, devoid of humor or mirth. "Our best chance? That's what you're going to say to yourself?"

She continues laughing as Snow looks at her with a mix of hurt and confusion now. "Emma-"

"No, please… By all means… You do that." Emma stands up, her bowl of stew long forgotten. "You do whatever you want."

Snow just looks at her then, not sure of what else she can say. But before going out, Emma turns to her one last time, a bitter smile framing her face. "Just ask yourself what it means… What does it mean when you're never part of your children's best chance?"

.::.

Frustrated by Snow's decisions and anxious for what's next, Emma drinks and drinks and drinks.

She drinks expecting to forget the creature that lives downstairs, who her mother has chosen over her two living children and grandson.

She drinks to forget the fact that the same creature used to be her father, a good man, a friend.

And that weeks ago he almost murdered his own son.

She drinks to forget the loss of her son's innocence who by the age of sixteen has blood on his hands and a knowledge of matters no kid should ever have.

She drinks to forget her title as the Savior. A burden that has only gotten heavier with the passing years.

And if all of that wasn't enough, she drinks to forget the woman who is so wrong for her, but that feels so right.

So Emma drinks a whole lot.

Only to wake up by Regina's side on the very next day.

.::.


	9. Chapter 9

**9.**

The big day arrives.

And Emma wakes up with the mother of hangovers.

Sometime in the middle of the night she found her way back to the room shared with Snow, though the memories are somewhat hazy.

Emma guesses that's what you get when you lose the count of just how much rum you've had.

No wonder Hook is always insufferable in the mornings.

Wearing her well-worn white tank top and cotton underwear Emma lays in bed trying to put together some of the fragments of the night before.

Her mind immediately takes her to Regina. How her mouth had been warm and inviting. How smooth her skin could be underneath the roughness of her own hands. The perfume that Emma can still smell lingering on herself.

Then she can't help but remember why she went looking for Regina in the first place. The sadness that was almost overwhelming making Emma's skin crawl as she tried to feel anything else.

Even without looking, Emma knows she will find Snow's bunk empty. The sun is already up in the sky what means that Snow has been up for hours. Always an early bird.

For all the bad things that have happened ever since this zombie apocalypse took place, Emma can't help but appreciate the fact she still has been able to have a family for the very first time. Not just a son claiming she's some sort of superhero, or a roommate to share intimate details about sex encounters (Emma still shudders when she thinks about Mary Margaret and Whale).

For the first time Emma has a mother - someone to look after her, to fight with her whenever she gets hurt by doing something careless and stupid, someone who takes care of her when she's sick and too weak to take care of herself. She has a son, a child who has had her as his sole caretaker for the last five years, a boy who she has taught pretty much all she knows - from skills to values - and who she has seen transform from a curious child to an impetuous and brave young man. And there's her little brother. The baby she held minutes after being born, whose first word has been her name, with whom she got to share so many moments that she had missed when she chose to give Henry up.

Emma has all that, and of course she misses David. He hadn't been her father for long when all happened, but he had been a friend, a confident, someone who could understand her better than Snow ever could and losing him had hurt. Maybe not the crippling kind of hurt that has turned her mother into a completely different woman, but still the one that makes your heart ache whenever you remember what you have lost.

So yes, she misses David. She's always going to miss David, but life goes on, and Emma knows that all too well. She knows that because Evan hasn't stopped growing, each day looking more like the father he didn't get a chance to know, and Henry is almost a man, and Regina is alive and back and making Emma feel all kinds of things she hasn't felt in a really long time.

Unfortunately, Snow doesn't seem to see any of this.

To her, time has stopped.

From the moment David's heart stopped beating, it's like somehow Snow's had too.

Back then, Ruby tried to assure Emma that it was only a matter of time. Losing someone you love changes who you are and even the former sheriff who hadn't known much about love then could understand that.

Yet, something inside of her kept trying to tell her it was more than just that. And the signs, come to think about it, where all there, plain obvious.

The way Snow had become sad and introspective, always hiding behind any sort of manual activity – from cooking, to fishing, to sewing – always running away from any real conversation. It was in the way she had rejected Evan, refusing to hold him at first and eventually forcing Emma to step up in the caring for the babe.

Most of all, it was in her stubborn and almost feral refuse in letting Charming go, talking about that thing that lived in a cell as if it still held the smallest resemblance to the man she loved.

Emma should have known. She always used present tense.

But Emma didn't know, or pretended not to know and now here she was, nursing a massive hangover as well as the heartbreak of being abandoned by her mother once again.

When Emma hears the knock on her door, it comes as a relief and she quickly wipes the single tear that has managed to escape against her will.

"Are you decent?" Comes the voice from the other side of the wooden door and Emma even allows herself a smirk in response.

"Get your butt in here, kid."

Henry obeys and enters the room right away, a knowingly look on his face and a steaming mug in his hand.

"Grams sent this to you." He hands her the mug and stands by her side, not willing to go just yet. "She said you would need it."

Emma takes the mug and smells its content before taking a wary sip. Her grimace is a perfect picture of just how nasty the thing is.

She drinks it anyway.

"Are your things packed?" Henry asks despite already knowing the answer.

"You know I prefer to travel light." Emma says simply, bringing the mug to her lips one more time. Henry agrees silently and stays there without saying much else. By now Emma knows him well enough to hear all the things he is not saying. "It's okay to get nervous. We are taking a big leap here."

He doesn't look at her, as if embarrassed by having been caught. Nevertheless, he doesn't deny it either. "Where do you think she will take us?"

Emma gives it a thought before answering. They've been so worried about getting away that so far she hasn't stopped to think about the destination. "I dunno. Maybe the Enchanted Forest, if still exists. But for all I know we could end up just about anywhere. Wonderland, Neverland, Oz… To be honest, I'm not sure she knows either."

"Well, as long as they don't have zombies or any plagues of the same nature, I guess it doesn't really matter."

"You've got that right, kid."

.::.

Regina is reading her notebook going over her scribbles once again when she hears the commotion. Once she reaches the main deck, the voices become loud and clear.

By one side Regina sees Henry, clearly distressed; his face red as he shouts and shouts. His voice blending with Ruby's protests. On the other side, Snow looks sorrowful, holding herself with her arms as she tries to give what seems to be a pitiful attempt of an explanation in between declarations of just how sorry she truly is.

"Grams you can't do this! You can't just stay behind!" Henry rubs his red-rimmed eyes, not caring for the audience they've managed to attract.

"Snow, I know you think you're doing the right thing, but please don't do this!" Ruby begs holding her pregnant belly as Hook stays right behind her, trying to offer her his support with small, diffident touches.

"Guys, I'm so sorry. But you know why I have to stay. You know why I can't go with you." Snow says with resignation, despite being upset.

"You can't! You can't do this!" Henry fights stubbornly, and Regina can't help but feel this pure agony blooming in her chest, born in the need of making her son feel better.

Yet, she refrains from intervening, trying to understand what is happening before saying anything.

"Henry, Hook was right. Taking David along isn't an option for the group. But leaving him behind isn't an option for me." She tries to touch his cheek, but he backs away, too angry to accept the gesture. It makes Snow smile sadly.

"But Snow, that's not David anymore." Ruby argues, tears streaming down her face. "Can't you see that?"

"Maybe not now. But he wasn't always like this. What's to say about tomorrow?" Regina shudders once Snow's blind optimism comes to surface while Snow adds, offering her hand to Ruby. "I could never give up on him. He is my true love."

"I can't leave you behind, Snow. You're my best friend." Ruby takes her hand on her own and holds it tightly.

"But you have to." Snow touches Ruby's stomach, a genuine smile escaping through the corner of her lips. "You're about to become a mother. You have to think about what's best for your family."

"What about **your** family?" Henry inquires bitterly. Snows frowns for a second, then she looks Henry in the eye, her voice wistful, almost serene.

"I am thinking about my family. That's why you, your mother and Evan must go. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Henry hiccups then, accepting Snows touch as she wipes away his tears. "I love you all so much. You can never forget that."

"Emma, aren't you going to say anything?" Ruby asks the blonde woman who, for the first time, Regina notices to be present. Standing over the quarter deck, Emma has been witnessing the whole scene when Ruby's words find her with blank expression.

Anxiously, Henry looks at her, waiting for what might as well be the equivalent of a divine intervention. In fact, everyone else does the same, including Regina. Emma's reaction however, fails to please the expectations.

With a stone-dead glare, Emma declares. "I have nothing more to say to her."

And just like that, she turns her back and walks away.

.::.

About an hour later, Regina finds Emma on the same spot, the poop deck, which seems to be her favorite place.

She doesn't mean to scare the former sheriff, but her silent approximation does exactly that.

"Now I understand what brought you to quarters last night." Regina says with no guile, just plain sincerity.

With her heart still pounding, Emma does her best to restrain the long list of curses that immediately finds its way to the tip of her tongue. Instead, she tries to calm herself down taking a deep breath. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Were you really so inebriated that you've forgotten?" Regina asks knowing full well the answer. Emma squirms then, the pink in her cheeks providing all the answer Regina needs. "That's what I thought."

"What do you want Regina?" It's Emma's turn to ask, though her voice sounds very much weary with no hint of the usual tweak.

"I just wanted to make sure that…" Regina hesitates. "—that you're still up for the task we have ahead of us."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Emma asks dryly, without looking at her and Regina almost lets her frustration get the best of her.

Almost.

"Very well then. We are supposed to leave at noon." The former queen informs curtly, but before leaving Emma's presence, she breathes in, deciding to say just one more thing. "A friendly reminder though: you're not the only one who is being forced to say goodbye to your mother."

And just like that, it hits Emma.

.::.

By the time Emma gets to his quarters, she is surprised to hear the voices inside, so instead of knocking on the door and revealing her presence, Emma stays put and allows herself to listen to what's happening inside.

She can't hear Evan's voice. He still hasn't said a word, but the feminine voice that reaches Emma's hearing surely belongs to her mother. Cautiously, she presses her ear against the wooden door.

"You know what day is today, don't you Evan?" Snow asks with an encouraging smile, sitting across from him on his bunk. Without looking at her, seemingly busy playing with his old stuffed bunny and the wooden horse Grumpy has made him, Evan still manages to offer her an affirmative nod.

"There's something you need to know though." The blonde boy looks up at her, inquisitive green eyes analyzing her features while expecting whatever she has to say.

Snow's heart actually skips a beat at the sight of just how much Evan looks like Charming – she always make sure of never paying that much attention to it, which is horrible and yet the brutal truth.

Only this time she can't run.

"Mommy is not going with you on this big adventure you are about to embark." The boy looks confused then, a frown marking his expression. And just like that, Snow sees Emma in him. "You, Henry and Emma are still going. So is uncle Killian and auntie Ruby. And Pongo. And Regina. But mommy is not. I have to stay."

She swallows hard and closes her eyes, forcing herself to go on. "There's a good reason why mommy is not going though. You see, there's this special mission I have. Something no one else can do beside me. Something you will only understand when you are older."

Snow opens her eyes once again, and does her best not to cry. Which is not to say some tears don't escape anyway.

"I have to stay Evan, to make sure there's still true love left in this world." She gives him a bright smile, the tears running freely then. "Now I know from the bottom of my heart that I don't have to worry. You, my darling are going to finally have the life you deserve. And I know that no matter what Emma and Henry will always look after you. I just want you to know that mommy loves you very much, okay? So don't you ever forget."

The boy nods, and as to reassure Snow, offers her a hug. She holds him then, holds him tight, for all the other times when she couldn't bring herself to do just that. And all the others she won't be able to.

When Snow opens the door to leave the room, she finds herself facing Emma directly. Her daughter looks two seconds from losing it and Snow wishes there was something she could do.

Unfortunately, that doesn't come with the choice she's made.

"I don't understand how you can do this." Emma declares full of contempt, her voice hoarse and her eyes stone cold.

It breaks Snow's heart all over again.

Perhaps Emma would take comfort in that if she knew it. Her anger, however, allows her to see little else other than Snow choosing to leave her side once again.

So Snow gives her what little she can. A bunch of words all wrapped with her best hopes and wishes.

"When you find your true love, you will."

.::.

At noon, they leave. A small sad caravan leaving behind a ship with three crew members; Snow stays for love. Grumpy, for the sake of loyalty. And Whale, whilst most likely harboring more obscure ambitions, claims to stay for the sake of science and finding a cure.

Emma doesn't look back.

In fact, none of them do.

.::.

The journey to the well is made among a mournful atmosphere and small setbacks.

Though bringing only the more basic utilities, travelling with a small child and a pregnant woman is hardly the best arrangement. Emma and Hook take turns at hauling the improvised chariot designed by Whale and made by Grumpy and Henry, where Ruby and most of their belongings are placed.

Regina offers to use magic to help, but the group vouches for her abstinence, believing to be more cautious if she preserves all the energy she can for later.

Evan is close to terrified and Henry has to carry the boy on his back all the way, with Pongo by their side.

Overall, everyone is aware and tense of what dangers may be waiting for them on the road. Only about forty minutes in, Emma starts dreading just the opposite, having a bad feeling about the lack of activity from the creatures.

When they finally manage to come across one, it is halfway to its permanent death already, slayed from the waist down, left to rot in the middle of other motionless corpses.

Covering for the group, Emma finishes it with her hand dagger and takes the opportunity to feel the temperature on the other ones. When she comes back to the group, her verdict is troublesome.

Someone has just killed them.

And if there's a bigger menace than a horde of dead people it's a group of live ones willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

On that, all of them can agree, and being that so, they rush as best as they can to their destination.

Halfway to the well, it becomes obvious that luck isn't on their side. The Sun disappears behind dark blue clouds and a cold drizzle starts falling from the sky.

Nevertheless, they don't have much time to mourn over it. Too far along on their journey, coming back is no longer an option and the darker the sky gets, the more nervous Regina becomes.

Then, when patience is already being worn thin, Regina recognizes the pathway and lets a blaze of relief warm her from inside out.

As soon as they reach their destination, Regina starts the arrangements.

However, right after it, Pongo seems to detect the presence of strangers and with the use of her senses Ruby confirms it – not dead, but living ones.

"Emma, I need you to concentrate. You need to raise a protecting shield around the group." Regina asserts without interrupting her preparation.

"Lady are you nuts? Are you forgetting I don't have an ounce of magic in me anymore." Emma argues already wielding her sword. "Why can't you do it?"

"The amount of magic that still resides in this well is close to nothing. That's much less than what I expected to find. Which means I'll have to use much more of my own. Now I can't invoke that amount of magic with the weight of a protective shield on my shoulders."

"Fine, I get it. But that doesn't change a thing. I still don't have any magic left." Emma explains restlessly while Pongo's barks become angrier.

"But you do! I've felt it. It may not be much, but it's still there. You just have to find a way to access it." Regina explains, too focused on making the plan work to even lose her patience with Emma's lack of confidence.

Under expectant sets of eyes, Emma closes her own trying to invoke whatever power Regina is referring to.

Nothing happens.

What Emma lets Regina know by letting out a frustrated grunt.

Too busy to spend any more time with useless discussions, Regina interrupts everything she's doing, crossing the small circle they've managed to create and holding Emma's face with both ungloved hands, only to press her lips against hers.

It lasts less than a second really, and unlike many of the kisses shared by the two of them over the last few months, this one doesn't have any hints of passion or lust.

In fact, later Emma would probably describe it as a CPR step and not a magical kiss of any sort. Only instead of oxygen, Regina's been inflating her lungs with exactly that.

Magic.

As soon as Emma recognizes the now familiar touch of Regina's lips, the other woman backs away, going back to her own agenda.

But that's okay, because Emma is definitely feeling the juice pumping into her veins and sure enough a light blue shield soon covers the whole group.

With a dumbstruck expression, Henry can't help but comment. "Wow, that was—"

"Hot." Hook offers and Henry's face immediately contorts in disgust. At the same time, Ruby finds in her to hit Killian squarely on the head.

"Dude, they're my moms." Henry exclaims shaking his head.

"Sorry mate." Hook offers as a sincere apology still touching the sore spot left where Ruby hit strong enough to leave a bruise.

"You better be." Emma threatens him with murderous eyes and Hook is almost thankful when they hear the sound of something clashing against the magical shield.

The group surrounding them haven't come nearer, but decided to finally attack. Rocks and arrows are being used. Emma deduces they don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention with the noise of bullets and guns.

The attack pushes Emma to dig deeper in her magic, what doesn't come without some serious effort. Gritting her teeth, she still manages to say loud enough. "Regina, what the hell? Why are you taking so long?"

After positioning the crystals around the well and pouring some of the ingredients she brought with her to reinforce the chances of opening a portal long enough for everyone to go through, Regina is already holding the bean she managed to save on her hand.

"Everyone, in position." She orders which means they are supposed to be ready for whatever is about to happen.

When she drops the bean inside the well, an explosion occurs and a green swirl opens on the middle of the ground swallowing whole the well.

Two by two, they go through it and once their turn comes, Emma's powers start oscillating.

"Emma, you have to go. I must be the last one in order to make sure no one crosses it after us."

"Are you kidding me?! Those creeps have arrows Regina. God knows what else! If I go, so does the shield."

"It will be a matter of seconds. Less than that really. Go."

"Regina-"

"The boys are waiting for you." It's Regina last shot, and much to her relief, Emma takes the bait.

Once Emma finally jumps into the green spiral, the shield she was creating disappears and although Regina jumps soon after, sealing the portal behind her, she can still feel something sharp hitting her.

The portal closes right after Regina's gotten through it, but the damage is done; She crosses it wounded.

.::.


	10. Chapter 10

**10. Epilogue**

They arrive on the other side in the middle of a storm separated from each other.

Emma opens her eyes to find herself nearby a huge old tree, her body aching from the impact on the hard soil, the cold rain soaking her completely. She immediately sits up, a grimace forming on her face just for the small effort. It's almost impossible to see clearly under the downpour but as far as she can tell there's no one around. That is, until she hears someone screaming. Emma can easily recognize the voice despite the long howls of the wind.

It's Ruby.

Putting her skills and will to good use, Emma starts tracking down the screams and it doesn't take long until she manages to find the pregnant woman breathing hard in the middle of a glade.

"Ruby!" Emma shouts as soon as her eyes recognize her, running in her direction as fast as her legs allow her to. A smile brought by unequivocal relieve tries to find its way to Ruby's lips once she sees Emma, but it's lost somewhere in the middle of a contraction, giving place to a feral grimace and a loud cry.

Emma can still remember the same expression in Snow's face when she was giving birth to Evan, mostly because it had scared the crap out of her. Which means Ruby is probably going through something similar. Which means there might be a baby on the way.

Great.

The timing couldn't be more perfect, Emma thinks but doesn't dare to say it out loud. If Mary Margaret had been scary when she was delivering her baby brother, it didn't take a genius to do the math using a werewolf in the equation. Even Emma knows that. So instead, she expresses her concern for the woman's wellness, as well as the baby's.

"Oh God, Rubes. How are you feeling?" The blonde kneels beside the brunette, offering her hand in support.

"What do you think?" The sarcasm fades when her words are followed by another groan.

"Right." Emma agrees self-consciously, her eyes nervously seeking for any signs of where they may be or the others. "How far along are the contractions?"

"Too… close." Ruby says just before letting out a tortuous cry and almost crushing Emma's fingers in the process with her tight grip. "Where's everyone? Killian…"

"I don't know Rubes. Maybe they are not too far away. You weren't." Emma takes one more look around but can't see anything that would come in handy. "Can you move?"

"No." The wolf replies breathlessly, her wet hair falling wildly in front of her face. Emma gently brushes some locks away in order to look her in the eyes.

"Listen to me Ruby, I need to go look for help."

"No!" She objects strongly, the panic clear in her blue eyes. "Please, don't leave me alone Emma. The baby, this land, I need you here. If I turn… I need you here to protect him from me."

"Ruby," Emma is about to interject, when she hears something. Looking up, from afar, she manages to catch a glimpse of a man's outline. He is tall and carrying what seems to be a rifle. "Who is that?"

Following her gaze, Ruby looks in the same direction, her senses sharp and alert, despite her condition. She would recognize it anywhere, something like dread dripping through her words as they escape her lips. "It's a hunter."

.::.

All Hook can taste is salt. And sand. Wet cold sand and then an even colder water wave covering his body like a freezing blanket. There's movement around him, this much he can tell, but it's hard for him to see what it is exactly, his eyes and lungs burning because of the seawater.

Hook is not unfamiliar with this feeling; no self-respectful pirate has gone through his career without drowning once or twice. And yet he feels as he might be seconds away from being dead.

Truth be told it's been a long time since he's been in good shape and now it has become obvious, as his body is telling – shouting really, just how old he is to these shenanigans. Therefore, even not being able to identify what or who has just saved his sorrowful ass, he can't help but feel grateful.

A good soul it must be; Maybe Swan. She sure has a savior complex that seems always bound to kick in.

But then why is she messing with his belt?

He and Ruby have tried to keep it quiet, but Swan has known about them from the very start and despite all the flirting he has inflicted upon her in the beginning of their shared lives, she has never really shown a real interest in his advances. Being that so now would be the most improper of times, either way.

Hook tries to open his eyes, but another wave of salty water washes his face.

Then he feels the pull. And slowly his body begins to be dragged to dry land. By his belt.

Somewhere on the course he loses conscious again.

When Hook finally opens his eyes, he finds himself in a poorly architected construction of some sort. The wind is strong and the storm doesn't seem to be going anywhere. But what a surprise, he's not alone.

And yet not exactly accompanied.

There's a horse with him. Or at least it looks like it. Only a miniature one. What kind of land has Regina brought them to?

And then there's a voice—and the voice talking to him belongs to- a little girl.

He opens his eyes wide, as if trying to see whatever it's behind this puzzle. The girl glares back, clearly unimpressed.

A child he has never seen before. Or has he? She looks somewhat familiar. He blinks twice, confused.

When she speaks, is with an inquisitive tone.

"Excuse me sir" She knees by his side, dark long hair in complete disarray because of the wind and the effort of saving his life much likely. Her voice escapes barely audible in between the whistles of the wind, but he sees her lips moving and manages to get some of it.

"Sir, are you the savior?"

Now, he can't have heard that right, can he?

His head hurts. Everything fades to black.

.::.

Henry is woken by Pongo's warm tong as the dog licks his wet face.

"Down boy," He pets the Dalmatian and manages to sit up, his back stiff from where he hit the ground. Then he hears it, a strange sound, almost muffled by the strength of the storm that is falling.

A cry, Henry identifies it, a small child's cry. His mind immediately goes to Evan and he doesn't have to look for long before seeing the boy, not too far away.

Evan is curled up, still wearing his yellow hoodie, what makes it easier to notice him in the middle of the woods.

By his side lays a body.

Henry would have recognized her anywhere.

He runs fast, all the physical pain he's still in, momentarily forgotten. Evan is crying, Pongo is whining and Regina, his mom, is lying there completely still.

He kneels beside her and prays that there's a heartbeat, his mind running fast trying to understand what may have happened.

Could have this been the cost of magic? Magic has always a price and as Henry touches Regina's neck, searching for a pulse, he hopes his mother's death hasn't been it.

Then he detects a small, shallow heartbeat. It's almost inexistent. But it is there. Which means he needs to find help. Fast.

"Did she die too? Is she going to bite me?" Evan's small voice is full of fear, interrupting Henry's train of thought.

"No buddy, she's going to be just fine. She's hurt, but we are going to take care of her."

Evan sniffs then, holding tight his stuffed bunny. "Now, I'm going to need your help buddy. I need you to be very brave. Can I count on you?"

The boy seems unsure, so Henry offers him an encouraging smile. "Evan, I need you to stay here with Regina. Don't touch her, don't let her move. Just stay here with her. On guard. Can you do that?"

Evan nods affirmatively, though still hesitant. "Listen buddy, do you see this? This is my knife. I'm gonna leave it with you. So if anything tries to attack you, do you remember what I taught you? What do you do?"

"I run. And hide." His voice is so small and hoarse.

"That's right! That's exactly right!" Henry gives him a quick peck on the top of his head before standing up. "I'm going to find some help, ok? I'll be right back."

As he walks away, Henry looks behind one more time, offering one last encouraging smile to the boy before really start to run.

Henry is not sure where he's going or what he is looking for. There's got to be something, anything that might help Regina.

It's only when he comes across the paved road that he starts to make the connections. This isn't the Enchanted Forest. This is a world much like his own. And as far as he can tell it could be the same one. Even the scenery suddenly becomes familiar.

Following the road he finally sees something. A car (definitely his world!). More specifically a police car. It looks empty and there's no sign of the driver anywhere. Henry tries the door and it's locked.

If only he could use the radio to call up for help.

From his back pocket he gets his Swiss Army Knife (Emma's present on his 15th birthday). Thank god for a mom who had thought to be important to teach him some old tricks in order to survive in the new world.

He is about to get it open when he hears the click of the trigger and a feminine voice announcing the fact that he has just been caught.

"Put your hands where I can see it."

Henry sighs heavily, doing exactly as he's told.

"Now turn around. Slowly."

When he does, is to come across a young woman who doesn't look much older than he is, using a uniform.

The Sheriff's uniform.

"Please, identify yourself." Her almond-shaped eyes remain impassive.

"Henry… Swan."

"Very well Mr. Swan. Now tell me, what exactly were you thinking when you decided to steal the car from Storybrooke's sheriff?"

Henry is about to give an explanation when her words finally sink.

Wait. What?

.::.

**A/N:** _So this is the end of the first part. The second part is a work in progress but already on its way. Thanks to all who read, followed and were kind enough to leave even just a few words to this author. See you soon (hopefully). xx Liv_


End file.
